Daughter of a Mockingjay
by kkrossy
Summary: Meet Rye Mellark, the daughter of the famous Katniss and Peeta. What does she do when something happens to her best friend? Or when she meets someone new? Or when something happens that changes her life forever? I can't tell you now. You'll just have to read to find out.
1. Chapter 1

"Run, Laney! Run!" I scream and throw rocks at the dog. Screaming. Blood. Howling. It's too late. I sit up in my bed, panting, my face soaked with sweat. I touch the large cut on my arm. Laney had it worse. It should have been me. I get out of bed to hear my brother moaning. I rush to his bed. "Shh, be quiet Callee. I'm so sorry." I stroke his golden hair as he asks me, "Did you have the nightmare again?" I nod. "I'm so sorry." He quiets down. "Rye? Can you sing the song?" I shake my head yes. "Of course. Anything for you, Callee."

I take a deep breath and wipe the tears off my eyes.

_Deep in the meadow, under the willow, a bed of grass, a soft green pillow, lay down your head, close your sleepy eyes. And when again they open, the sun will rise. Here it's safe, here it's warm. Here the daisies guard you from every harm. Here your dreams are sweet and tomorrow brings them true, here is the place where I love you._

Callee smiles. I tell him, "Mom taught us that, remember? Now it's very early, so you have to go to sleep. It's not good for a 9 year old to be up right now." He nods and closes his grey eyes. Such a good brother. I kiss his forehead and lay in my bed, watching him sleep. I try to sleep myself, but I don't want another nightmare about my best friend dying. I decide to head for the Meadow. Where Laney is buried. It was her favorite place. I still see her dancing around with flowers in her hair.

I tiptoe past my parent's room, knowing they won't worry. I've always gone to the Meadow at dawn ever since… oh, never mind. I notice that my brown hair is still soaked with sweat. I guess that's what happens when nightmares almost scare you to death. I splash some water on my face, take Laney's jacket, and go outside. The warm summer breeze blows, and the sun is rising. I put on the jacket and head for the Meadow. Barely anybody is up, just some workers opening up shops. Classic District 12 lifestyle. When I reach the Meadow, I run to her grave and lay down. She was my best friend. She was only 14. She had so much to live for. I bury my head in the grass and start to cry. This goes on for a long time, then I raise my head.

Maybe I should go back to the woods. Where the beast killed her. Should I go back there again? Maybe. I don't want to go back there, because it surfaces so many awful memories. But I hunt for sport. Without hunting, I basically have nothing to do but cry all day. I slowly raise to my feet and walk towards the haunting place. Once I'm in, I find the tree trunk where my mom always put her bow and arrow. I grab my spear and look for game.  
My mom taught me how to hunt. I tried the bow and arrow, but I handle the spear better than anyone. Mom forgot about the woods as she got older. She doesn't have the time, and she has Callee and my dad to handle. So I hunt now. Once I brought Laney here. Biggest mistake of my life. I spot a rabbit and aim. Just as I am about to throw, a rope ties around my feet and I am lifted up.


	2. Chapter 2

"Get me down from here now!" I scream. I am hanging from a tree 5 feet off the ground. I hear laughter, and five boys emerge from the bushes. I recognize them from school. "Hah! I guess old Rye wants to be my dinner." I see one of the boys aiming a knife at me. My body fills with fear and I feel my stomach drop. Without thinking, I throw my spear at a nearby rock. To mine and the boys' surprises, my spear goes straight into the rock.

I let out a small laugh and say, "You guys can easily join that." I catch the fear in their eyes as they run away. I smile, but my face falls as I realize that I am still hanging from this tree like an idiot. I hear a rustle in the bushes as one of the boys comes out. He has ginger hair and freckles all over his face. "I'm sorry about them," he says. He pulls a small knife out of his pocket and cuts the rope holding me up. I slam onto the hard ground and spit, "You had to get me down _that_ way?" He laughs. "Feisty, aren't you? No wonder you're the rebels' daughter." I scowl at him and yank my spear out of the rock.

I don't like awkward silences, so I say the first thing that pops into my head. "Don't you have a twin?" He nods. "Cassius. And I'm Dariush." He holds out his hand. I shake it and say, "I should be going. Breakfast time." For some reason I feel like crying. I walk away, my eyes filling up with tears. "Wait, Rye. I know about Laney." I don't know how that's possible, but I turn around and sniffle, "How?"

"She was my neighbor. I knew you two were friends, because I saw you together at school. When I didn't see her for days, and I saw you crying in the meadow, I knew she was gone." I wipe a tear from my eye. "She got attacked by a wild dog when I tried to teach her how to hunt. It was my fault. And I still have nightmares." He takes my spear and shoots a bird. He runs to get it and hands it to me. "When did you learn how to hunt?" He shrugs. "My dad. Hey, by the way, my friends are only jealous because you have such amazing parents. And how well you hunt." I can't hold back the blush.

"Wow, thank you," I say. "Hey, um… can you be my hunting partner? You seem pretty good, and it gets kind of lonely with Laney gone." He looks startled by such a big proposal. "If you don't want to, I…" He holds his hand up. "No, I'd love to! Let's meet here at every dawn." I nod. "Deal." Maybe this douche will get me through all the grief after all.

I go home to find sausage and eggs on the table. My parents pull me into a hug and so does my brother. I really need my family at a time like this. I sit down and start devouring the food on my plate. I didn't realize how hungry I was. I tell everyone about Dariush. How his friends hung me from a tree, how he rescued me, how he knew about Laney, how he's my hunting partner. My mom has a big smile on her face, and I hear a huff from my dad. Oh no. The flashbacks.

He clutches to the back of his chair and stars yelling. I cover Callee's ears as my mom runs to him. She whispers into his ear and strokes his face until he quiets down. Callee's eyes are wide, even though he knows why the flashbacks happen. My dad gets up and pulls something from the oven. I feel the corners of my mouth rise as I look at the rye bread. I get up and hug my dad. This is the happiest I've ever been since the accident in the woods.


	3. Chapter 3

I hesitate to go to bed tonight, not wanting the horrors of the dream. My dad gets in bed with me and calms me down until I lose consciousness and finally fall asleep. I wake up to a snarl. Realizing it was only in my sleep, I happily jump out of bed and get dressed. I slip on my mom's old hunting boots and head for the woods. I walk through the meadow and send my prayers to Laney. I grab my spear and find Dariush at the same spot we were yesterday. I am surprised to see he has his own spear. "Let's get to hunting," he says.

We don't talk much, only when we spot something. We bring down two birds and two rabbits. At the end, I tell him to keep what we caught, because he needs it more than I do. He points out my cut. "Was that from the dog?" I sigh. "Yes. Would you mind not talking about it? It hurts whenever I think about her." Dariush nods. "Oh. I'm sorry. Well, I should get home now. Parents are waiting." We walk silently to the edge of the woods and go our separate ways. I go home with a smile on my face, kind of excited for the next dawn.

I come home to find my dad on the floor wallowing around. My eyes go wide. "Dad! Daddy!" I scream. My mom is trying to calm him down and so is my brother. Dad has tears streaming down his face. "Mom, when did this happen?" "A few minutes ago," she says. She gets close to him, whispering things in his ear. I only catch the words "snow", "war" and "gone". Then she says out loud, "Stay with me." He immediately quiets down and looks at her like she's said that before. Then he says, "Always." He touches her braid and looks at our shocked faces. He hugs us and tells us how sorry he is. I know why this always happens.

I was told when I was 5, and so was Callee. It was a lot to take in, knowing that my own mom was the face of a rebellion against that Capitol. My dad still thinks about it, and sometimes it's just too much for him and he loses it. And it's ok. They were put into those awful games twice, of course flashbacks will come. She still wakes up screaming some nights about "mutts" and "children". But then he helps her, calms her down just like she does for him in return. I feel horrible for them because they had to live in such an awful world. Sometimes just the thought of it scares me to no sleep.

But then I look at them. How their courage brought me to where I am now. A peaceful world. Sometimes I feel like I'm not worthy to be their daughter. Like I have little to no bravery compared to them. The sun sets and I decide to get to bed. Tonight my dreams are different, about the Games. I dream that my name is called, that I get killed the minute it starts. This time, I'm the one that wakes up screaming. Then I realize that there is no Capitol, no Hunger Games. That it all happened before I was born. That Katniss and Peeta ended it all. I let out a sigh and go back to sleep.

A/N: Hi guys! Sorry I didn't put author's notes on the earlier chapters; I didn't know how to do it. Anyways, this chapter is mostly about Rye's parents. I know with stories about Katniss's daughter, people would want to know how she feels about her parents. So read, review, and enjoy!


	4. Chapter 4

I wake up to hear my brother screaming my name. "Callee, what's wrong?" I ask as I approach his bed. Without answering, he pulls me into a bone breaking hug. "You're here. You're here." He keeps telling me.

"What happened?" I ask.

"It was a dream," he begins. He is still shaking and has his arms around me. "W-we were walking in the woods. And then this boy with red hair and freckles comes out with a spear and…and…"

"And what?"

"H-He threw the spear at you and it went right into your stomach," he cries. I figure this boy is Dariush. He would never do that. Would he? Callee's arms are still around me and I stroke his golden hair and look into his grey eyes. "I'm here. Ok? Nobody will hurt me." He nods. "Do you want me to get in bed with you?"

"Please. I want to know that you're here." I get into bed with him and wrap my arm around him. After a few minutes his breathing becomes even and I start to think. It's obvious that the boy who speared me was Dariush. The hair, the freckles, how he was in the woods… It hits me that sometimes dreams carry messages. Like for the future. Maybe Callee's dream meant that maybe something bad will happen that involves Dariush? No.

I can't believe that. I won't. For some reason I feel like getting out of the house. With Callee. I shake him and he jerks his eyes open. When he sees me, his eyes turn from worry to relief. "Why'd you wake me up?"

"Do you want to go somewhere special?" I ask. He nods and we get out of bed. "What about Mom and…" I interrupt him, "Don't worry. I always go to the meadow at dawn." We leave the house in our nightclothes and walk towards the meadow. He takes my hand and I interlock his fingers with mine. I lead him to the stream in the meadow near Laney's grave. He lies down and beckons with his hand for me to do the same. I lay down next to him and he lays his head on my chest.

I listen to the sound of the water, and the continuous croaking of the frogs. "Callee?" "Yes?" "I want you to know that I will ALWAYS be here to comfort you. Ok? Nothing will take me away from you."

"But the boy…" "The boy will not hurt me." I try my hardest to believe that as much as I can. "It's ok. I will always stay right here." Callee's grey eyes meet my blue ones. "Promise?" he asks, tightening his grip on my hand. I need to be here for him. I need to take care of him. Nothing will stop me from being there for him. I nod. "Promise."

_A/N: Hello again! So this was kind of a last minute chapter. All of my chapters are usually written down in my special notebook, but something happened where I had to add a new one. So this chapter is mostly about Rye and Callee. How she swears on her life to protect him. And about Dariush hurting her, we'll see…_


	5. Chapter 5

I carry a sleeping Callee home (I forgot to mention he is a heavy sleeper) and lay him in his bed. I lie in my bed and watch the sun rise. I get dressed. Go to the woods, meet Dariush, hunt, and go home. I go through the same procedure every day. As the weeks go by, Dariush and I grow closer, become good friends. We improve our hunting, help each other. I grow happier every day, and my dreams become a little less violent. They still come though, every night they still come. But I always know that I will wake up. Let my family, and Dariush, cheer me up and clear away the horrors of my nightmares.

Today I decide that I trust Dariush enough to show him Laney's grave. I meet him at the tree. "Let's not hunt today. I wanna show you something." He shrugs and we put our spears in the tree trunk. He is very easy going, and I never really hear a "no" from him. Is that a good or a bad thing?

I lead him to it. "This is Laney's grave," I tell him. He kneels down and examines it. All the flowers, the grass, and a stone that says, "In Honoring Memory of Laney Urdesse". He picks up a yellow flower, one that she always used to put in her hair. "You made this?" he asks. I nod and tell him, "This is where I come to talk to her, where I know she is there." He looks at me.

This is the first time I examine his eyes. A very deep brown. So… so beautiful… I almost become lost in them until he says, "This is amazing. I'm speechless." Then he hugs me. I hug him back. We stand there for a while, hugging each other, embracing each other's warmth, our friendship that we need so much.

I almost don't want to let go. But I have to, we can't stand here forever, right? "Do you want to go to the lake?" he asks. I answer a little late. Damn brown eyes… I jump at the chance to be near water. My mom took me to the lake once, when she was teaching me how to hunt. We start to head out, when he takes my hand.

It startles me, but I don't let go. Hand in hand, we take the path hidden in the trees. We arrive at the lake, shining in the sun. I sit down and put my feet in the water, and he joins me. I enjoy the sparkling water, and let the rest of the world disappear around me, closing my eyes and lying down in the soft grass.

I hear Dariush lie down, too. We stay silent, enjoying the sun. Then he says, "Let's play a game." With my eyes still closed, I say, "Like what?"

"A question game. We ask each other a question, and we have to answer it honestly." I nod. "And you have to promise me you will be honest," he adds. I try to think of a way to prove to him I promise. I hold up my pinky. Well that's stupid. He laughs and hooks his pinky with mine.

"You first," he says. "Ask me a question." Ok, let's start with something basic. "What's your favorite color?" He laughs. Oh my god, his laugh… "Sky blue. What's yours?" I say, "Green. Light green, like this grass." I run my fingers through the grass below me. "My turn," Dariush says. "What's your favorite food?" My answer is quick. "Rye bread." He laughs again. My god… so perfect… "Mine is ginger bread." A little laugh escapes me. "Considering the fact that you _are_ a ginger?" We laugh for a little bit, and we continue our game.

I learn many things from him. By the time we're done, the sun is fairly high in the sky. I look up at the clouds and hear him say, "You have pretty eyes. Sky blue." I look at him to find him looking back at me. Those eyes… "Thank you. And you don't have bad eyes yourself," I say, smiling. He starts to run his hand down my cut and then through my hair. And I let him, because this is exactly what I need right now. His touch, his smile, his kindness, his eyes, his laugh… everything. I can't believe he has anything in common with his friends. He is different. His whole nature, everything he does is different.

He would never hang me by the feet in a tree like his douche bag friends. He actually has a heart. He sends this feeling through me, like fire. I'm snapped back into reality as I hear them come out of the trees.

_A/N: Shmello! Wow, Rye, having fun there? Oh, I'm so funny. And sexy. Ahahaha jk guys, jk. _


	6. Chapter 6

_(A/N: Kk has been bugging me to use my computer to write her story. I'm letting her do so now. Here goes nothing!)_

Dariush springs up to face his friends. They talk very quietly, and I just watch, very confused about what's happening. After a few minutes, one of the boys faces me. He looks exactly like Dariush, so I figure this must be Cassius, his twin brother. "Well, I guess you're done here," he says in a disgusted tone of voice. "Excuse me?" I say, offended. "We just told him to do everything he did," another one says. "It was a bet to win over a girl." I whip my head over to Dariush, who has unmistakable fear in his deep brown eyes that only a few minutes ago I got lost in.

I see that he has a wad of money in his hand. I walk over to him and slap his face, ignoring the laughs in the background. "It was all a bet?" I say, enraged. Callee was right. "Everything you did, how you made me feel, it was all for money?" He looks down at his feet. "Yes. Rye, I…"

"An apology won't help!" I scream, feeling the fire rising up inside me. "Hey, calm down sweetie," Cassius says. I face him, my face burning. "MY NAME IS RYE! RYE PRIMROSE MELLARK!"

I turn back to Dariush, my eyes welling up. I just shake my head, and run into the trees. Callee was right. He was right. I just keep running, wanting to leave the world behind me. I find myself next to my best friend's grave., crying my eyes out. "It was all fake, Laney, it didn't mean anything. It was all a scam." Suddenly I realize that she's not there, that she's gone. I get on my feet and start yelling. "Why aren't you here? Why aren't you talking to me? Why did you have to die? I hate you!"

I turn and run home, straight into my Mom's arms. I just sob into her shoulder and explain what happened. I feel her stroking my hair, glad that it's her hand, and not Dariush's. She breaks our hug and looks into my tear stained eyes. She takes my hand and leads me into my bedroom.

I feel something small slip into my hand. I open my palm to find a round pin, and in the middle, a mockingjay in flight, holding an arrow. My mom pins it to my shirt. "I received this this after I was reaped for my first Hunger Games. It was the symbol for the rebellion. And now I'm giving it to you. Protect it and nothing bad will happen to you, I promise."

She kisses my forehead. "Thank you," I say. We hear a knock at the door and my Dad comes in. "Can I have a minute?" My mom leaves and my Dad sits on my bed. "She gave you the pin?" he asks. I nod. "Let me tell you something. When your Mom and I were in our first Games, she pretended to love me just to get sponsors. But over the years, things changed. And here you are. "

I can't help but laugh. "And your point is?" I ask. My Dad takes my hand. "Things change." He touches my pin. I sit there and get confused by his words. I'm 14 years old, how could I not get it? I hear my brother come in. He looks at me with his grey eyes. They don't look young and naïve, like they usually do. They look older and wiser. "I'm sorry, Rye. So many things have happened to you in so little time, things that you don't deserve."

I look at my brother, surprised by the way he is speaking. "I know," I tell him. "Sometimes I just want to leave this Earth. Forget everything." He grabs my arm, grips it so tight that I let out a whimper. "But you _can't_, Rye. You have to be strong. You have to change what you can't accept." I feel my jaw drop. He lets go of my arm and I feel my jaw drop. "What happened to you, Callee? What happened to my little brother? You're nine, you shouldn't be saying this stuff!"

He laughs and I tussle his hair. Then he leaves, his and my dad's words hanging in the air. _"Things change." "Be strong. Change what you can't accept."_

_A/N: Pretty interesting chapter, huh? So Callee was right… hmmm… anyways, life isn't perfect. A broken heart comes around at least once in a lifetime. I recently broke a heart myself… long story short. You guys don't care about my life. So read, review, and enjoy!_


	7. Chapter 7

I'm hunting in the woods when I see Dariush. For some reason, I get excited and run to him, calling for him. Just when I reach him, red fur grows on his body, his nose extends to a snout, his nails grow into long, black claws. In a matter of seconds, he is a snarling, red dog, posed to kill me.

"No! Don't kill me, Dariush, no!" I plead for my life, then my mom's voice snaps me into the real world. "Rye, Rye, what's wrong?" I realize I was dreaming. That my parents hear my pleas. For some reason, I feel sick. I run to the bathroom and throw up. My dad is there to hold my hair back, and my brother has a thermometer. When I'm done, my mom feels my forehead.

"Oh, sweetie, you're hot. Callee, take her temperature." I get a 102.8. My dad gives me medicine, and my mom gets me to lie down. "Rye, you have to sleep to get better." The thought of sleeping terrifies me. "No, no Mom. I won't sleep. I would rather throw up and be sick rather than sleep." Callee comes over to us. "Would you sleep if I joined you? I don't care if I get sick." I nod. Sleep would be better with the person who was right.

He gets under the covers with me and we fall asleep. I wake up to find my mom sitting on the edge of my bed and my brother fast asleep in his bed. "Your temperature dropped," she says. I spend the rest of the day at home, eating Saltines to calm my stomach, reading, and watching television in the living room. Sometimes I look out in the direction of the woods and think of Dariush.

But I immediately take the thought back. He is the dog. He's going to kill me if I run back into his arms. He is the reason that I have tissues all around me. I'm watching a reality show when my dad brings me some soup and rye bread. I also see that he as a large book in his hands.

"I figured it's time for me to show you this." He hands it to me. I open it up to find dozens of pictures and words. On the first page, it has a picture of a little girl, with blonde hair. She is holding a cat, and below the picture, it says "Primrose Everdeen". Below that, there is an explanation of her, all the things that she used to do.

"She was your mom's sister," my dad tells me. "That's where you got your middle name." I turn the page to find a painting this time, of another little girl with her arms up, poised on her tiptoes like she is about to take flight. "Rue". I read her whole description, and soon enough I am lost in a world of photos and paintings and sketches of people who can't be here today.

I read every word of every page, and find out why they were so important to my parents. Stylist, best friend, ally. So many reasons why they were held near and dear to my parents' hearts. "Thank you," I tell my dad. He hugs me and leaves. I spend my evening looking through all the pictures while having chicken soup with rye bread.

_ A/N: So, we meet again. It is possible that you can get sick because of a broken heart. And Rye finds out about the book! This author's note is all over the place. Umm… __I don't know what to say. Enjoy! Merp._


	8. Chapter 8

I wake up from my first full dreamless sleep. I don't feel that sick, just a stuffed up nose. I reach for the pin on my nightstand and examine it. It's cool touch, the beautiful bird with an arrow going through it. The symbol of rebellion. The Mockingjay. I close my palm over it and walk to my parents' room. I see my dad's arm around my mom, protecting her from the horrors of _her _nightmares.

They are sleeping so soundly, I almost don't want to wake anyone. "Mom?" Her beautiful grey eyes flutter open, and soften when they see me. "What's wrong?" She whispers, not wanting to wake my dad. "Nothing." I walk over to her bed and sit down. She opens my palm and takes the pin.

"Rye, you have to protect this. With your life." I nod. Why wouldn't I? "You don't know how much it means to me. Protect it." Her face has gone from gentle to serious.

"I will." She smiles. I love her smile. "Can I go to the woods?" I ask. Her face becomes worried. "Yes. But please," she takes my hands. "Please be careful."

"I will." She closes her eyes and goes back to sleep. I get dressed, slip on her old boots, and fasten the mockingjay pin to my shirt. _I will, Mom. I will._

The air is cool, perfect for hunting. I enter the woods to find it peaceful and quiet. No Dariush. No boys. No nothing. I sit down and lean against a tree. Maybe all the bad things are coming to an end. Maybe I can finally go back to the way it was before Laney died. Happy.

Except for one thing. I'm a lot stronger. I'm a better hunter. I've learned to face problems, not run away from them. I've changed what I couldn't accept.

I smile and close my eyes. I dream that I am walking in darkness. I see a faint glow in the distance, and walk toward it. I realize it's her, it's Laney. "Laney!" I run into her warm arms, telling her everything that had happened. "I know, I know," she's saying softly. I look into her beautiful green eyes. "I'm sorry. For yelling at you. For saying I hated you. It's my fault you're dead."

"It's ok," she says. "You were just speaking on a broken heart." Her eyes become alarmed as she looks past me. "Rye! Rye, wake up!" She shakes me, and I am jerked back into the woods, into the awful real world, and I find myself looking into the eyes of the dog.

_A/N: So, this chapter was kinda all over the place… shocking ending, huh? Wanna read more? I'm sorry so many awful things are happening to Rye. All I can say is… It's not quite over. Have a fantabulous day!_


	9. Chapter 9

I am looking into the fierce eyes of the wild dog that killed Laney. I immediately aim for its heart. But before I can throw, I feel its claws lash at my face. I cup my hand on my cheek, pinching myself to make sure it's not a dream. I try to throw again, but the beast yanks the spear from my grasp and snaps it in half. I feel a sharp pain as claws and teeth meet flesh.

_Give up, _I tell myself. _Just let it kill you. _I start to relax, taking a final look at the world. The pretty trees, the woods teeming with life. I feel awful leaving it all behind. Then I hear a yelp of pain. I see another spear in the dog's back, and I look around with my blurry vision, trying my hardest to see who's there.

I feel myself getting pulled away from the dog's grip. "Stop it!" I scream through my hoarse voice. "Just let me die! I'm good as dead anyway!" The beast somehow got the spear out of its body, turning towards my savior. It tears up his skin, and the sight of his blood on the leaves somehow gets me up.

I try to stand up, but I can't get my legs to function. I can't move them. I can't move my legs. I am forced to drag myself on my hands. I find Dariush's spear in the dirt, covered with dog's blood, and drag myself to them. I jam it into the attacker once more. "You already took Laney away. You are not going to take Dariush, or me, away WHATSOEVER!" The dog finally collapses, but its paw throws me to the ground. The last thing I see is his face before I black out.

I open my eyes to find myself in a hospital bed. There are tubes in my blood stained arms, and my leg is in a cast. I look at the bed to my left to find him looking at me with those deep brown eyes. "Well, look who finally woke up," he says in a soft voice. He has bandages all over his body, and I can't help but feel guilty for him.

"How am I still alive?" I ask. "Me," he says. "If it weren't for me, you would be dead with that dog by now." I sigh. I don't think I can repay him for this. "Thank you. But how can I trust you?" He looks shocked, like that was the worst thing he'd ever heard. "Because I _saved_ you. I risked my life for you, Rye, on my own!" I know that he is referring to his friends. "I dropped everything to save you! Everything! My own damn life! It was my idea to save you, no one else's!"

I speak up. "But why? Why did you save me if I turned my back on you? Slapped your face and ran away?"

"Because I love you!" I don't know what to say. After everything, Dariush Schwartz says he loves me. His voice quiets down. "Your favorite color is light green. Your favorite food has the same name as you. You love the water. You are afraid to sleep because of bad dreams. Your parents basically shaped the world we live in. Your best friend died because of a dog. I betrayed you once. Your eyes are my favorite color. You are very pretty. You are an excellent hunter. And for some sick, twisted reason, you made me love you."

My eyes are wide as I look at him. I open my mouth, and all the words tumble out. "Your favorite color is my eye color. Your favorite food is gingerbread. You don't like to sleep in pitch dark. You knew my best friend. You pretended to be my friend. Your eyes are very… brown. I like your laugh. You saved me from Laney's killer, even if it brought us here. I think of you when I think of the woods. You are an amazing hunter. Your friends are assholes. At one point, you were, too. And for some unbelievable, god damned reason," His bed is close enough for me to reach his hand, even with all the pain it takes. "I love you, too."

He clutches my hand with all his strength, and even though it hurts, I let him. I let him embrace the fact that I forgive him. The doctor comes in and my parents follow, with a devastated look on their faces. My chest gets that aching feeling that comes when I'm nervous. I let go of Dariush's hand. It is silent for a few minutes until someone finally speaks. "Rye," the doctor says, "I have awful news."

He talks about x-rays and the dog and my legs. I look at the tears sliding down my mom's face, and the depressed look in my dad's eyes. And then I see Callee, brave little Callee, looking at me with his young, grey eyes watering. I feel like I felt in the woods the day Laney died. Then he says it. The sentence that changes my life forever.

"You have lost the ability to move your legs."

_A/N: I'm so sorry. I know most of you hoped that things would get better, not worse. But the dog hit the nerves in Rye's back that paralyzes her. Things like that happen. I know most of you are gonna hate me now, and I'm ok with that. This is life. But the next chapter is the epilogue and then we are done. On a happier note, when I am finished with this story I'm gonna write a 30 or so chapter story in Callee's point of view. It will be a lot better! More characters, more chapters… So yeah! I am VERY sorry about Rye and her legs. But trust me, things WILL get better over time!_


	10. Chapter 10

**About writing a story in Callee's point of view, scratch that. Instead, I am continuing with Rye's story.**

_You have lost the ability to move your legs. _No. No, this isn't happening. It can't all lead up to this! So many bad things have happened. My best friend died. I got sick. Now _this_? _Laney, why did this happen? Why did it lead up to this? What did I ever do?_ So many questions are circling in my head.

I hear the sharp sound of my scream as it echoes in the room, and all the tears flow out. Dariush takes my hand again, and I squeeze it. My parents run to me, embracing me in their arms. Callee slowly walks over, his face full of fear. I see him mouthing to me, _I'm sorry._ Over and over again. I feel like the world is crashing down on us. On me.

I am no longer Rye Mellark. Just a legless, good for nothing freak. I can't hunt. I can't run. I can't do anything. All I hear is my sharp cries filling the room. "Shh. Be quiet, honey." My mom says. "No! How can I be quiet, Mom? My legs won't _move_. I'm paralyzed. I'm just a…" My dad cuts me off.

"Rye, stop it. You are so much more than paralyzed." As much as everyone tries to comfort me, it won't help. I can't do anything. I'm nothing. The doctor's voice rings out above all the others.

"Let's get you into your wheelchair, Rye." He gestures toward the wheelchair, the thing that I will have to sit in for the rest of my miserable life.

A nurse comes and takes the tubes off my arms. My dad scoops me up, and leads me to the chair. Finally, I stop crying. My dad sits me down in the chair. I look at Dariush, his eyes full of fear for me. I slowly reach my hand out to him.

"Dariush. Get Dariush," I say. The nurse speaks up. "I'm afraid we can't. The tubes in his body provide…" I interrupt, "You took the damn tubes off my body. Why not his?" The doctor looks at the nurse. "I'm afraid so. Bring Mr. Schwartz over here." The nurse sighs, and takes the tubes out of Dariush.

As soon as he's free, he runs to me, kneeling down and hugging me tightly. I feel a tap from my mom, and she mouths to me, _but he was faking it. _"He saved me" is all I say. He breaks the hug, and looks at me, his face inches from mine. "Rye, you can do this." He backs away, leaving me in control of the wheelchair.

I place my hands on the wheels, and push. I feel myself move a couple inches. I look at Dariush. "I did it! I moved!" He has a big smile on his face. "Good," he says, "keep going." I push again, and again. I feel myself moving. I'm moving! I let a laugh escape me. "I'm doing it, everybody! I'm moving!" I hear a chorus of "good job" and "keep going". And I do. I wheel myself out of the room and down the hall, my family, Dariush, and the doctor and nurse following.

"Be careful!" the nurse says. "Don't get lost!"

"I won't!" I laugh and look behind my shoulder at all the smiling faces. This can work. I can still move. I can't stop laughing. I feel very happy. "Thank you, Laney." I look up to her, because I know she is looking down on me. "Rye!" I hear down the hall. "Yes?"

"Come back!" How do I turn around? As if reading my thoughts, the doctor walks over to me. He shows me how to turn around, and how to control everything. He leads me back to the crowd of people waiting for me. Callee runs to me and throws his arms around me. "Good job. I'm so proud."

"Ms. Mellark?" the doctor says. "We have to get you back in bed. I'm afraid you have to stay here for a few days." What? No, I don't want to stay here. "But I can move!" I object. The doctor shakes his head. The dog caused some other wounds that need to heal here." My dad again scoops me up and takes me back to the bed. I wince, as the tubes are re-inserted into me. The doctor comes over with a box of small little glass containers full of clear liquid.

"This is a painkiller called morphling," he says. "It will knock you out for a few days, which, fortunately, is the amount of time you will be staying here." He puts the liquid into an injector, and I feel the pain of the morphling entering me. My vision becomes blurry, my hearing becomes muffled, and slowly, my world goes black.

_A/N: I told you things would get better! I know I said that I was going to do one in Callee's POV, but I just couldn't let go of Rye. I will try to make this story 30 chapters or so. There will be more characters on the way! Let me just say thank you all for taking time out of your life to read all of my hard work. I love you guys! _


	11. Chapter 11

**Please let this be the only 30 chapter story about Katniss's daughter. **

"She's waking up." I slowly open my eyes to find myself in the safety of my own bed. My throat is dust dry, and my mom is there with a glass of water. I quickly sit up and chug it down in seconds. "More," I pant. She just laughs. Why won't she get more? I wave my hand dismissively toward the door. "Well alright Little Miss Bossy," she laughs and scurries out to get me more water.

How long have I been out? I look at my arms and find stitches on them. I feel my face and find a long bandage on my forehead. Wow, morphling must work, because I don't feel any pain. These scratches are nothing compared to the permanent damage on my legs. I lift up the covers and peer at my unmoving, paralyzed legs, covered by polka dot pajama pants. "To think I'll never be able to use you guys again," I whisper.

"Damn dog." I hear footsteps in the hallway and my mom comes in with another glass of water. I reach toward her, making little begging sounds and moving my body up and down. I take the glass from her and drink it in 4 seconds to be exact. "Well can I get a thank you?" she asks, taking the glass from me.

"Thank you Mommy, for giving me this water." Laugh. Laugh, laugh, and laugh. "Even paralyzed legs can't take away your sense of humor." I look at the window, covered by the curtain. "What time is it?" I ask. "Around noon. You've been asleep for 3 days, can you believe that?" she says as she opens the curtain.

I shake my head. I feel like showering. "Mom, how am I going to shower?"

"You can't, just baths." Well at least I get a nice hot bath every day. One of the… well, definitely not many advantages to being paralyzed. "Then can I have a bath?" My mom nods. "Let me help you into your chair."

She walks over to my bed and takes the covers off me. "Just inch yourself off the bed and fall into the chair. Don't worry, I'll be holding it." I turn sideways and carefully inch myself backwards into the waiting wheelchair.

I drop down and instead off falling into the chair, I plummet onto the carpet. "Mom!"

"Sorry!" She struggles to pick me up. Well I'm fourteen and weigh 120 pounds, expect me to be heavy. Eventually, she gets me up and sits me into the wheelchair. She starts to push me, but I hold my hand up. "No, don't push me. I want to get the hang of moving myself."

She holds her hands up like she is surrendering to something, and this time I'm the one that laughs.

I wheel myself out of the room, my mom following, and carefully turn left into the bathroom. I wince when I hear the thud of wheelchair against door. What? I'm only just starting! I back up and continue my way in.

My mom turns on the water in the bathtub while I struggle to take off my pajamas. The cami is easy; I just lift it up over my head like I always do. But the pants, I struggle with. I only get them to my knees before I can't bend down anymore.

"Mom?" she turns around to find me topless, bending down and trying to pull pants off my paralyzed legs. She laughs at the sight. "Mom! It's not funny! A little help would be nice!" still laughing, she pulls the pants off the rest of my legs.

I wheel myself over to the tub, carefully easing my way out of the chair and into the water. Halfway in, I lose my grip and tumble face first into the hot water.

When I get up, my mom is uncontrollably laughing. This time I yell. "What kind of mother are you? Laughing at your paralyzed daughter fall face first into a bathtub?"

"Sorry honey, I shouldn't be laughing." I nod sarcastically. "Well, you enjoy yourself," she says, turning on the TV above the bathtub. I turn to my favorite channel and watch a show called "District Drama". A bit cheesy, but still good.

I wash myself, wincing as the soap touches the stitches. I wonder why that dog came back that day. I'm pretty sure I scared it enough the day Laney died. Probably wanted another shot. I don't know. Well, it's dead now.

I turn off the TV and rinse my hair. I turn off the water and let it go down the drain. Luckily, my towel is close enough for me to reach. Still sitting in the empty bathtub, I wrap the towel around me, carefully drying my wounds.

For a second, I forget. I try to stand, but end up collapsing. Oh right, I'm paralyzed. From hearing the sound, my dad comes rushing in. "Rye, are you ok? What happened?" I shake my head like it's nothing. "Just forgot my legs won't move." He scoops me up a lot easier than my mom did, and carefully places me into my chair.

I notice he has a depressed look in his blue eyes. Probably from my accident. Besides me, my dad was the most devastated. "Daddy, I'm ok," I reassure him as he pushes me into my room. "I won't get hurt again."

"Like any more damage could be done to you," he mumbles. "Katniss! Come help our paralyzed daughter get dressed!"

"Dad!" I yell. "Please don't rub it in! To me or Mom!" He just quickly walks out of the room. I swear I saw him wipe a tear from his eye. My mom walks in. "What was that about?" She asks. I just shrug. She takes out an outfit for me. Blue sweatpants, a white cami, and my comfy boots. She also takes out a bra and underwear. "Thanks," I mumble.

I put on the bra and cami easily, and she helps me with the underwear and sweatpants. I slip on the boots and wheel myself out of the room. "You know, it's August," she says. "We should get school supplies."

"Ok, let me get ready." The chair is high enough for me to see myself in the mirror. I brush my teeth and comb my wet, brown hair. Just a little bit of mascara. "Perfect," I say to myself. I need a bit of time with my mom, and I want to be able to go anywhere in a wheelchair.

I exit the bathroom to find my mom standing outside the door. "Well, look at my beautiful daughter." I smile. "I have a surprise for you." She covers my eyes and pushes me to what I know is the stairs. "Ok… open!" She takes her hand away and I see an elevator. My own elevator, for me to get upstairs and downstairs easily.

I turn toward my mom. "How much did this cost?"

"Doesn't matter," she says. "Press a button." And I do. The doors open to a small room, and I wheel myself inside, my mom following. I press the "1" button, and we are sent on our way down. The doors open to the living room, and I wheel myself out. "Thank you," I say. "Now let's go shopping."

_A/N: This is like, my first long chapter! More than 1,000 words! Anyways, I tried to make things humorous. I know I made you all suffer through Rye becoming paralyzed, so I tried to lighten the mood. Let me just say that whenever I get an email on my phone that tells me something about this story, you don't know how happy I get. It feels so good to know that actual people out there are reading my stuff! And reviewing it! And adding it to their Favorites List! _


	12. Chapter 12

**Happy late 4****th**** of July! I was busy yesterday so I couldn't post.**

I wheel myself into the supplies store, my mom following. "Hello, Katniss! Hello, Rye!" says Mr. Urdesse from one of the check out stands. Despite his enthusiasm, he always has that depressed look in his eye. I'll give you 5 seconds to guess why. 5…4…3…2…1… Did you guess? That's right, he is Laney's dad.

"Hi, Mr. Urdesse!" says my mom. I just keep my head down. I basically was the reason his daughter isn't here anymore. "Rye, go and pick out some school supplies," my mom tells me. I wheel myself to the school aisles and pick out a forest green binder, some folders, and pencils and pens.

My lap is filled with supplies as I go back to my mom. I just see her when I feel myself bumping into another person. All of my stuff goes flying everywhere, and I can't pick it up. Stupid disablement. "Oh my God, I'm so sorry," the other person says. I look up to find a tall girl with long black hair and dark skin, her hand covering her mouth. "It's ok," I mumble back. "Shy, aren't you?" she says cheerfully. "I'm Rana. And this is my brother, Baret."

Rana points to the boy gathering my supplies. I recognize them from school, the other set of twins besides Dariush and Cassius. Baret puts my supplies back onto my lap. "Thank you," I say. "No problem. See you at school!"

Baret exits the aisle, and his sister follows, waving to me as she walks away. "Rye," my mom is running over to me. "What happened?"

"Nothing, just bumped into some people. Literally." My mom collects the supplies and Mr. Urdesse checks them out. "Thank you!" he says as we exit the store. "Why didn't you help me?" I ask as we make our way back home.

"Just talking to Mr. Urdesse," she says. I stop moving. "Really," I say, "You'd rather talk to the father of my deceased best friend than help your paralyzed daughter?"

"I haven't seen him in a while," she mumbles. I sigh and start moving again.

When we get home, my mom goes straight upstairs. My dad is sitting on the couch in the living room, just staring at nothing, not even noticing we walked through the door. Slowly, I wheel myself over to him. "Dad," I ask. "Are you ok?" He finally jerks back into reality. "Yes. Just thinking."

It is silent for a minute, when I finally speak. "It's because I'm paralyzed, isn't it?" He says nothing. "I'm still me," I continue. "I just can't move my legs." I keep telling him that I'm ok, when he yells. "I just don't want to lose you! Don't you get it?" The loudness of his voice startles me. "I'm still me!" I yell back.

"Why can't you be the supporting dad that makes his disabled daughter feel _better_ about herself rather than reminding her that she's nothing?"

I rush to my elevator and go up to my room, my eyes watering. I struggle to climb into my bed, but eventually I do.

I hear Callee climb in with me. "It's ok, Rye. It's ok." I cry for about half an hour, my brother next to me. "Rye, guess what?" he asks in a soothing voice. "Your birthday is coming up. September 1st, remember?" I nod. "You'll be 15," he continues in his calm and gentle voice that always calms me down. "I will, won't I?" I ask through sniffles.

My birthday is the first day of school, I forgot. At least I have something to look forward to.

_A/N: Sorry for the short chapter. I kind of ran out of ideas, so I just stopped. Ok. I think more people are reading this story than reviewing it. So if you are going to add my story to a favorites list, can you review it first? _


	13. Chapter 13

**I've gone forward about 2 weeks so it's September 1st, Rye's birthday. I feel like I spoil you guys sometimes.**

I wake up to a birthday cake with 15 candles on it. I see the smiling faces of my mom, Callee, and my dad. "Happy 15th birthday!" they say in unison. I get into my wheelchair(it's been a while, I've gotten used to the thing) and give them all a hug. "I'm sorry I ever doubted you," whispers my dad as he hugs me.

"It's ok," I whisper back. My parents go downstairs, leaving me with my brother. "What're you gonna wear?" he asks. "Does that concern you?" I say back, looking at the jumble of clothes in my closet. Callee is silent for a few minutes, watching me find my outfit. Then he opens his mouth. "Rye, I did some research. About paralysis." I turn to look at him. "And-and it said that it's possible you could walk again. If there's swelling in your spine, then…"

I throw my head back. "Callee," I groan, "I am permanently paralyzed. The dog somehow damaged the nerves that make me walk. Understood?" He keeps going. "But…"

"Callee! I will never walk again!" He looks at me with his eyes wide, tearing up. "I'm sorry," I wheel over to him, wrapping him in my arms. "I'm sorry. I'm just tired." I feel him nod. "Happy 15th birthday," he mumbles against my chest.

I let him go and turn to my closet. "Hmm… what to wear…" I say to myself. I end up picking out skinny jeans and my favorite red flowy top. My brother helps me with the waist down, even putting on my flats for me.

I go to the bathroom and brush my teeth, comb my hair, and put on a red headband. I apply makeup and take my small little elevator downstairs. I still want to know how they got that thing installed in 3 days. And how much it cost. The cake waits on the kitchen counter, its decorated flowers and bright colors done only by my dad.

"Cake for breakfast?" I ask him, sitting at the counter. "Happy Birthday" is his response. I cut a slice and take a bite. It is REALLY good. I finish up and take my backpack, filled with all of my school supplies and my lunch. My dad puts my backpack on the back of my wheelchair.

I go to the door and wait for Callee, then we head out. I start to push myself, but he stops me. "Let me. It _is_ your birthday," he says. "Thank you, Callee." We get to the school, its big "Welcome Students" banner up. Callee runs to join his friends, leaving me in the dust.

"Rye!" I hear a familiar voice, and see Rana running to me. "Hi, Rana!" I wave to her, good to see a face I know. She leans down and hugs me. "Happy Birthday! Talu, get over here!" She gestures towards a pretty, blonde haired girl among all the people waiting for the bell to ring.

Talu runs over to us, a smile on her face. "Hey Rye," she says, holding out her hand. "I'm Talu." I shake it. "Nice to meet you." "You too," I say.

"Rye! Hey, Rye!" I turn my head to the voice, belonging to none other than Dariush. He is running over to me, his brother following. I've always had bad feelings about Cassius. Dariush has bandages all over his body. At least that was the only damage done to him.

Dariush leans down and gives me one of his tight hugs. "Missed you," he whispers. I notice Rana and Talu are giggling. "He is just a friend," I tell them. "Right?" I ask Dariush, looking up at him. I hope he says yes. I might have been attracted to him before, but I am _not _ready for a relationship.

"Right," he says. Good. I feel him grab my chair, pulling me behind a handball court wall. "What do you mean we're just friends?" he whispers. "I thought we had something." I grab his wrist. "We _do_," I whisper back. "I'm just not ready for anything. I just became paralyzed."

He looks hurt. _"Dariush,"_ I take his other wrist, tightening the grip I have on them. "Look at me." He refuses to look me in the eyes. "We're hunting partners. We're _friends_." His eyes finally meet mine. "Well then what was that in the hospital?" he asks, raising his voice. "You said you loved me. You said it."

"And I _do_ love you, Dariush! As a friend!" I see a tear slide down his face as he wrenches his wrists from my grip. "I just thought we had something more." His voice catches in his throat. "Happy 15th birthday," he grumbles as he walks away.

I feel a hand on my shoulder. "I'm sorry," says Talu. "It's ok," I say, "I just…feel bad." I watch him join his friends, who all have smiles on their faces. Douches. Way to start my birthday.


	14. Chapter 14

**This chapter took a lot of research. **

The lunch bell rings and we all head to the cafeteria. Baret and I go to the lunch line while Rana and Talu find a table. I have trouble getting the food, because I'm so…low. So I just tell Baret what I want and he puts it on my tray himself.

I'm glad I have friends already. For some people, it takes weeks, or even months. We eat in silence for a few minutes. "Rye!" chirps Rana, breaking the silence. "How is your birthday going?"

"Good," I say, picking at the stuff in my salad. "Rye," says Talu. "What's wrong?" I look up from my food. "Nothing! Nothing's wrong!" But she just stares at me. Like she's pulling the confession out of me.

We have a staring contest for a bit, then I can't stand it anymore. "Alright!" I yell, slamming my fork on the table. "It's just…my first birthday being paralyzed. It's so hard." Baret touches my arm. "It's ok," he reassures me. "We'll help you. All of us."

I smile. It's good to have friends that care about me. I look past them to find Dariush and his friends. I just keep staring. I can't look away. For a second, Dariush turns his head. Our eyes meet for a second, but we both look away as fast as possible.

Why did I do that? I still care about him, more than anything. But does he care about me after this morning? I don't know. I just want to forget about it. It's my birthday, after all. It's supposed to be a _happy_ day. My day.

After lunch, we go through the rest of our classes and finally, the dismissal bell rings. I go to my locker (A/N: Yes, I'm making them have lockers) and get all my stuff. I'm glad it's a bottom locker.

I struggle to put my backpack on the back of my wheelchair. I almost drop it when someone catches it and puts it on my chair. I look up to see Dariush. His brown eyes are pained, and he doesn't say anything. He walks away as fast as he came.

So I guess he does care. Even through all the pain I put him through. "I just told him we were friends," I say to Callee as we make our way home. "I don't see how it changes anything."

"Oh, but it does," says Callee, his wise form coming back. I haven't seen it since the day I had my first problem with Dariush. You could say I missed it. "To boys, friendships and relationships are completely different. It's hard to explain."

We get home to find my mom on the wall phone, my dad hovering over her. They only glance at us, and my mom slightly waves. This must be important. My brother takes my backpack off my wheelchair and takes his own backpack off.

We rush over to them, just listening. "Yes," says my mom, "That's amazing." I see she has tears rolling down her face. "Ok, two months. I will tell her. Thank you, Doctor." She hangs up the phone, then turns to us, her face bright.

"Rye," she takes my hands. "It's temporary." I don't understand. "What do you mean?" I ask. "Your paralysis," another tear slides down her face. "It's temporary. Something with your spinal cord. The dog caused nerve damage, but it can be fixed." I can't believe I'm hearing this right now.

"So, I can walk again?" This time, my eyes start watering. "In two months," laughs my mom. "In two months, you can walk again."

_A/N: So yeah, this chapter caused a lot of research. I had to make sure it was possible she could walk again, and it was. So don't you all love it? By the way, for a few chapters, Rye will still be in a wheelchair. Like I said, two months. Ok? Ok. So please review, and tell me what you think! Every review makes my day. _


	15. Chapter 15

The shining blue water sways below my feet. "I can't," I say, my voice shaking. "I could drown."

"You_ could_," my mom's stern voice tells me. "You can do it. I'll be right here." Can paralyzed people swim? Mom says they could.

I sit with my feet in the water, unmoving. "Just scoot yourself in," I mutter to myself. "She's right here." I push myself with my hands, plummeting into the water. My arms moving as fast as they can, I paddle up to the surface.

My head pops up from under the water, gasping for air. I feel my mom holding me, protecting me from drowning. "You did it," she says. "Good job." My body shivering, I pull myself to the grass, dragging myself out.

"What are you doing?" asks my mom, shocked. "I came into the woods, to this lake, to teach you how to swim."

I push my dripping body to my wheelchair, grabbing the towel that hangs on it. "I only came," I say, my teeth chattering, "So you can spend time in your woods." I wrap myself in the towel, and I lay down in the grass.

This place brings bad memories. I don't want to be here. I want to be in the woods, hunting, or home. This is the first time since I was born that my mom set foot in these woods. I didn't come here to drown. I came here to hunt with my mom.

I glance towards the silver spear and the old bow resting in the sun, next to a sack of arrows. "I came," I say, "to see you hunt." I bury myself in the grass, trying to warm up.

I hear my mom coming out of the water. She grabs a towel and lies down next to me. "The last time I was here was before the rebellion," she says, stroking my hair. That had to be at least 25 years ago. "The last time I came here was with Dariush," I say. "The day you gave me the pin." We lay in silence, thinking about the past.

"Let's hunt," I say, leaning on my arms. She pulls me up and into the wheelchair. I won't be using this in two months. She walks over to the weapons, and picks up the bow. I see tears coming down her face.

She picks up the arrows and I hear a sniffle. I wheel over to her and pick up my spear. "It's ok," I say, stroking her arm. She puts the bow and arrows over her shoulder like she did so many years ago.

She hands me my spear and we head for the path in the trees.

I look around, inspecting every bush, every tree. "They won't come," my mom reassures me. "But what if they do?" I ask. Those boys made my life a hell. "They won't."

We emerge into the woods, its tall trees rising into the sky. My mom is really crying now. My wheelchair stumbles over the roots and rocks. I'm surprised I haven't tumbled over by now.

I spot a squirrel and aim. I take a sharp breath, and throw. Perfect shot. I guess even paralysis won't stop me from doing the things I love. "Your turn," I tell my mom. She reaches back and pulls out an arrow. She attaches it to her bow and draws back, like she never stopped hunting.

She releases and hits a bird perfectly. Like she never stopped. I look up at her to see her crying, wiping the many tears off her face. "Good job," I whisper.

I decide to just watch her. Watch her connect with something that she missed so much. Her face is focused, letting the rest of the world go and zoning in on her hunting. I can tell she missed this.

I just watch her, a smile on my face. This is what I came here for. She needs this. She needs hunting.

After about an hour, she stops. "I want to show you something."

I nod, and find my spear in the dirt and leaves. I follow her, carefully watching out for big roots that could throw me off my chair.

Then she stops in front of a big rock. "I can't climb up there," I say, backing away. "I'll carry you," she says, never taking her eyes off the huge rock.

"No you can't," I say, shaking my head. "I'm too heavy." She turns to me. "I carried pounds of game up there. I can carry you."

She walks over to me and lifts me up, slinging me over her shoulder like I'm a sack. She walks toward the rock, and begins her way up.

I cling to her shirt, not wanting to fall and injure myself more than I already did. I hear her grunts of effort, her panting. After what seems like an hour, she finally tumbles onto the top of the rock.

"We're here," she breathes. I look around, seeing the tops of the trees in reach. I look to my mom, and she has a faraway look in her eyes. She seems to be looking in the direction of District 2.

Why is she doing that? I just shake it off and look at my surroundings. We must be a few hundred feet up.

I see my mom mouthing things, still looking in District 2's direction. She is running her hand over the surface of the rock, and a small tear is rolling down her cheek. I think I've had enough tears already today.

_A/N: I tried to make this chapter mostly about Katniss. I wanted her to hunt again and have her be in the woods. For those who don't know, at the end she is mouthing things to Gale. He lives in District 2, so that's why it was in District 2's direction. And that rock was Katniss and Gale's meeting place. I feel like I'm talking to kindergarteners right now. You've all read the books! Right?_


	16. Chapter 16

**Hi! Sorry I haven't posted in so long. Please read the author's note at the bottom! Please? And also, WHERE ARE MY READERS? One day my phone is buzzing with emails and the next it's as expressionless as Kristen Stewart.**

"Bye, guys!" yells my mom as Callee and I leave for school. He has a worried look in his eye the whole way. When we reach the school, Callee pulls me to the side. "Rye," he says urgently. "Be careful."

My body becomes tense. "Why?" I ask. He sighs. "Hali Shay," he says shortly. I know that girl. Sixteen years old, stick straight blonde hair, her face packed with makeup, her nails always colorful. I look at my nails. Plain, dirty from all the hunting. They need to be cut, too.

Everyone knows one thing about Hali. Hali may be pretty(from all the makeup) on the outside, but on the inside, she's as ugly as a pig.

A mean girl. Someone that makes people cry. I swallow. "What about her?" I say shakily. "I overheard her yesterday," he says. "She was saying mean things about you." Oh no. "Why? What did I do?" That's a question I've been asking myself for a while now.

Callee widens his arms, gesturing to me in my wheelchair. "What you did was become paralyzed," he says. "She sees you as a target." Oh no. "But I'll be out of this in two months," I say, thinking of an excuse.

He puts his hands on my shoulders. "Until then, just PLEASE be careful." He walks away, leaving me alone once again. I put my head in my hands and just stay there until the first bell rings.

I go through my classes thinking about Hali. What's she going to do to me? Insult me? Tease me? Maybe even get physical? I don't know. I don't want to know. The lunch bell rings and I go to my locker to get the lunch my dad packed for me. I open it and a small white piece of paper falls into my lap.

I pick it up and read it.

_Rye-_

_Rumors have been going around about Hali Shay hurting you. _

_I care about you, so please be careful. Please._

No signature. No sign of anyone. Who could have written this? Callee? No, that's not his handwriting, and he would have told me it was him. Dariush? No, he doesn't care about me enough to do that.

I fold up the note and put it in my pocket. I grab my lunch, close my locker, and head for the lunch area. I'm halfway there when I bump into something. My lunch spills onto the floor. When I hear the scream, I know it's not something I've bumped into, but someone.

I look up, and find myself looking into the makeup covered eyes of Hali Shay.

"You FREAK!" she squeaks. "What the hell is wrong with you?" Curse this damn wheelchair. "I'm sorry, I…" she interrupts me. "I don't want to hear it. You legless, good for nothing, ugly…" Before she can finish, rage overtakes me and I move forward, bumping her again, making her stumble back.

"Oh, you want to play it that way?" she sneers. She moves her blonde hair out of her face. "Then let's play it that way."

She kicks me in the leg, causing nothing to happen. I have no feeling in my legs. "Oh," she says. "I forgot. You're _paralyzed_." The word fills me with fire. I reach up and punch her in the cheek.

"Thanks for giving me that idea," she says evilly. She punches me in the eye, making me yell. I groan, holding my hand to my eye. "Oh, do you want me to stop?" she says in an innocent voice. I can't answer; I'm too busy moaning from all the pain.

"You didn't say no," she sneers. She digs her nails into my arm, making me scream. She yanks my hair, causing lots of strands to float onto the floor. She kicks me in every place I can feel it, whispering, "Paralyzed. Paralyzed. Paralyzed."

Then she does the worst. She grabs my arms and throws me out of my wheelchair, kicking me onto the ground. She throws my wheelchair down the hall leaving me squirming on the ground, in pain, helpless.

She walks over to me, hovering over my helpless body. She gives a quick laugh. "That'll teach you not to bump into me, Nolegs," her high heeled shoe hovers above my back. I close my eyes, bracing myself for impact. But it doesn't come, Instead, I hear her yelp, her body thrown against the wall. The smell of forest, the heavy breathing. I don't even need to guess who it is. Dariush.

"Don't touch her." His firm voice growls. I open my eyes, to see Hali pinned against the wall, Dariush's strong arms on either side of her, preventing her from escaping. Even though he's fifteen and she's sixteen, his eyes are level with hers. "We were just having a little fun," she says.

"Fun?" he yells. "You call throwing her off her wheelchair and hurting her _fun_?" she sinks down the wall, fear filling her eyes. "Don't you _dare_ try to escape," he growls, pulling her up so she's level with him again. "What're you gonna do, Schwartz?" she pants.

"Get the principal. Tell all your friends. Maybe even give you a taste of your own medicine," he says, holding up a fist. "So don't you _ever_ lay a finger on her again," he grumbles, pressing her against the wall. "Or you'll get it." He releases his grip on her arms, letting her sprint away, not looking back.

Dariush turns to me. "Rye," he whispers, running over to me. "I'm so sorry." He helps me up, getting me back into my wheelchair and smoothing out my hair. He runs his hand over my bruises, his brown eyes filled with sorrow.

His eyes meet mine, and a single tear falls down my cheek. "Thank you," I whisper, pulling him down into my arms.

For a few minutes, we sit there, embraced in each other's arms. "I missed you so much," I whisper into his ear. "I care about you so much," he responds. "That's why I left the note." I break away from our hug, still holding his arms.

"You wrote that?" he nods. And to think he didn't care.

"I care about you more than anything, friends or not." I hold my hand to my chest, signaling that I'm touched. And I am.

"But we can't hunt together anymore."

_A/N: "Don't worry about the bitches." –Jennifer Lawrence_

_So I made this chapter centered on bullying. I know it's a big problem right now, so I wanted to point this out. For all my readers who are dealing with a problem where people are insulting you or teasing you or making you cry, I know. I understand. It's happened to me before. So here's what I say. You HAVE to stay strong. Tell a parent, a teacher, any adult you know. Don't let these people take you down. They are VERY insecure, they probably have their own problems at home. Who knows what goes on outside of school? I had a friend who bullied me. She imitated me, made me feel awful about myself. She made me cry at home. So you know what I did? I ended it. Broke off the friendship we had for years. I couldn't take it anymore. I was told she was bad news, anyway. And I know now that the reason she was bullying me was because she had problems at home. She isn't pretty, so she loads makeup on every day (like Hali). And I know, I always tell myself, "she'll get her karma." And she is getting her karma as we speak. So the bullies out there are only being mean because they are trying to make themselves feel better by making other people feel worse. That's what Hali is doing. She has many secrets that we'll unfold later. So if any of you are being teased, insulted, hurt, just message me. I can help you because I went through the same thing. Don't be afraid, I won't bite. So if someone is trying to take you down, it only means you are above them._


	17. Chapter 17

**This story got more than 2,000 views? People from other countries are reading it? Excuse me while I go sit in a corner and fangirl.**

"Come on, it'll be fun!" Rana takes my wrist while Baret pushes my wheelchair. "No! I just wanna go home and cry!" I say. But I can't help a small giggle pop out of me. Rana and Baret always make me happy, no matter what the situation is.

"Oh, come on. You're not gonna let Dariush prevent you from having fun!" Yells Rana as she runs, her hand still wrapped around my wrist. The name snaps me back to a couple hours ago.

*Flashback*

"_But we can't hunt together anymore." The sentence fills my senses, blinding me, freezing me, disabling me from doing anything. "Rye," his touch snaps me back. "What do you mean? What do you mean we can't hunt together?" _

"_My brother and his friends," he says calmly. I'm surprised that he didn't say they were his friends. "What about them?" I yell. _

_He sighs. "They said I can't talk to you. Can't see you at school, can't hunt with you, can't do what I'm doing now." I start to hyperventilate. My breathing becomes quick. "W-why? Why are you listening to them? D-don't you care ab-about me? D-don't you l-love m-me?" _

_Tears start filling my eyes, and I start to sniffle. "Because they'll hurt you." He runs his fingers through my hair, his free hand holding my shaking one. "They'll attack you. Slit you with a knife. Who knows what." His voice stays calm._

"_B-but I can h-hunt," I say, panting heavily. "I could b-beat them in a second." His hand leaves my hair and cups my cheek. "I know," he whispers. "But I can't take that chance. Cassius is fierce. He's stronger than you." His thumb wipes the falling tears off my eyes. _

_Why does he have to leave me? What is he doing? I don't know. All I know is I can't see him anymore. I can't look into those deep, reassuring brown eyes. I can't listen to that laugh, that amazing laugh that makes my knees weak. I can't breathe in that forest smell that always calms me down._

_I'm snapped into reality when I feel his lips on mine. The kiss is soft and gentle. His hand runs through my hair. After a few seconds, he pulls away, touching his forehead on mine. "Why did you do that?" I ask softly, all signs of my freakout gone. "I do care about you. I do love you. But I don't want either of us to get hurt," he says, standing up._

"_I'll miss you," he says. He slowly walks away, leaving me breathless. My Dariush. My hunting partner, my friend, maybe more. Gone. Taken away from me._

*Flashback over*

"Yes I will!" I object. "He was my other half! He was taken away from me!" Baret stops pushing me. "Well," he says playfully, "Let's have a little fun." I keep yelling objections, trying to make them stop. I don't want to have fun. I just want to go home and go to sleep.

Eventually, I stop yelling. My voice is getting tired, and maybe a little fun would be nice. Where are we going, anyway?

"Close your eyes," says Rana. I do, and I feel myself getting pulled into a cool room. I can tell it's dark. "Ok, open!"

I open my eyes to a dark room, with pink and blue lights moving all over the place. In front of me is a big stage.

"Welcome to our little secret hide out," says Baret. I'm astonished. "How- how did you-" I'm lost for words. This place is _huge, _how could it be secret? As if reading my thoughts, Rana speaks up. "We found this place one day. The lighting worked, so did the stereo."

Suddenly loud music starts playing, and I see Baret on stage, holding a microphone. "We're the music type," Rana whispers as Baret starts dancing to the music onstage. He's not half bad.

"This is for you!" he shouts into the microphone, pointing his finger at me. "Oh, God," I whisper to myself. Rana must have heard it, because I hear her giggle behind me.

Baret starts singing- well not exactly singing, but talking in a rhythm. "It's called rap," whispers Rana. "It was a style of music the Americans used."

Baret starts "rapping" about being strong and the urge to keep going, and I can't keep the smile off my face. My head starts moving up and down to the beat, and I start clapping, too. He ends the performance, and I can't stop clapping. "Bravo, bravo!"

Baret bows and runs off the stage. I open my arms wide for him, and thank him as he hugs me. "We just thought we should get your mind off of Dariush," he says. "Thanks, but that's not possible. He _kissed_ me." After the words come out of my mouth, I immediately regret it. Baret looks at me with a face I can't quite describe, and Rana squeals and takes my hand.

I feel myself getting pulled into a dark bathroom, and Rana turns on the lights for me to see her happy/shocked face. "He kissed you?"

"Yes, Rana, he kissed me." I almost feel like plugging my ears to her high pitched girl scream. "It didn't mean anything," I mutter. "He didn't give me time to respond. He left me." I feel her hand on my shoulder. "Oh," she says, a tone of disappointment in her voice. "I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about it," I say quietly, looking down at my boots. I can't exactly decide how I feel about the kiss. I understand why he did it, though. Because he was saying goodbye. I don't know if I liked it or if I didn't like it, it just… left me speechless. It left me surprised. I can't say goodbye now.

_A/N: I'm sorry, I had to put a kiss in there. Don't worry, things will be better between them. In the meantime, I need your help. I'm going to a writing workshop on Saturday, and it encourages us to bring samples of our writing. I want to write an original story to bring, though. One that I own. So I decided to write one about a paralyzed girl and how paralysis changed her life. The thing is, it's in past tense. I can't write in past tense! I'm so used to present tense! So here's where you come in. I want you to tell me if I should continue writing my original (that I would put on my FictionPress account) in past tense or if I should do it in present tense. OR, if I should forget about an original and write another Hunger Games story in present tense. Please tell me in the reviews! I need you guys!_


	18. Chapter 18

**Thanks for helping! Even though like one person helped… oh what the heck. So my original is posted on FictionPress! It's called ****Hallie Weinstien's Blessing in Disguise****. Pretty cool title, huh? Oh, search it on Google because if you search it on FictionPress no results come up. Please? The only views I got on that were 6, from me. Forever alone. So yeah! Please read it because I know people read this! This is a really long before letter so let's get on with the story!**

"You should, Rye!" Talu is kneeled down next to me, reading the flyer.

_District 12 Talent Show! If you think you have talent, then this is the event for you! _

_When: October 5__th __at sunset_

_Where: Town Square_

_Who: Anyone with a talent!_

_There will be refreshments provided by Peeta's Bakery. The winner receives a trophy with their name! _

_Our judges are: Katniss Mellark, Haymitch Abernathy, and Delly Cartwright! _

_Signups: Town Square! Deadline for signups is September 20__th__ at sunset._

_Hope to see you there! _

"No! My parents are involved! My mom is a _judge_!" Talu laughs. "Oh, don't worry. I don't think she's one to pick favorites."

"But I don't have a talent!" Talu gives me a look of shock. "What do you mean you don't have a talent? You can _sing_!"

It's true. I do have a voice. "And Dariush would be delighted to see you up there." Is she crazy? Does she even _know_ what happened? Dariush hasn't been coming to school ever since the day I got bullied.

"Dariush won't come to see me." I look down at my feet. "Of course he will. He cares about you more than anything!"

"If he cares about me so much, why would he just leave me like that?" I snap at her. She looks taken aback. I look down at the ground again. "I'm sorry. I'm just sad."

She puts her hand on my shoulder. "I'm sorry, too. Let's go sign up! The deadline is today!" She gets behind me and pushes my wheelchair. "Talu! Not so fast!" She stops abruptly at the town square, filled with people.

We weave our way through the crowd. "Hey! There's a line!" A tall woman gestures to the line of people. "Right. Sorry!" Talu pushes me to the back of the line. "Bi-" I interrupt her. "Talu! Don't say that! She was only telling us there was a line!" One thing about Talu is, she's very outgoing.

She pushes people to do things, and is very sensitive. She's just… interesting. We stay silent, and move up the line. Finally, we approach a man sitting at a desk. "Welcome! Thank you for signing up for the District 12 Talent Show!" He wears a bright smile.

He takes out a sign up sheet and a pen. "So, what is your name?"

"Rye Mellark."

"Ah, a Mellark, wonderful. How old are you?"

"Fifteen."

"What are you doing for the talent show?"

"Singing."

"Very nice. What song?"

I haven't thought about that yet. I scroll through all the songs that I know in my head, and come up with my favorite. It's a song from America that my mom taught me.

"Safe and Sound."

"Very nice, very nice."

He puts the sheet into a pile.

"Thank you for signing up! Rehearsal is on October 1st at noon. You are a very special contestant!"

I roll my eyes. He's just saying that because I'm a Mellark. I silently pray that my mom isn't one to pick favorites.

"See, that wasn't so hard," says Talu.

"I guess it wasn't."

She pushes me to her house and we hug goodbye. "See you tomorrow, Rye!" I wave back, and head to Victor's Village. I think about the judges. Well, there's my mom. That can't be good. Haymitch? Hopefully he's sober enough to _see_ the contestants. Delly? Well, that's ok. I've met her, and she's nice.

There's probably a big chance I'm going to win. All the judges have a connection to me. _Why'd you have to do that, Talu?_ I open the door and enter the warm house. "Mom, Dad, I'm home!" My mom comes walking down the stairs.

"Mom, are you one to pick favorites?" She gives me a look of confusion. "I sure hope not. Why?" I take a piece of rye bread from the table and start picking at it. "Oh, because I signed up for the talent show."

"That's great! I will not give you special attention." She gives me a quick hug and starts to make soup. I notice that she has a robe and pajamas on and her hair is all messy. Her face doesn't look the best, either.

"Mom? Are you ok?" She gives me a nod. "Just a cold, is all." She sniffles and starts heating up the stove. I take my backpack and go up the elevator. I go into my room and start homework.

"_Just close your eyes, the sun is going down. You'll be alright, no one can hurt you now. Come morning light, you and I'll be safe and sound."_ I quietly hum the verses to the song. For some reason, it reminds me of our past, and the war my parents were so strongly involved in.

"_Don't you dare look out your window, darling everything's on fire. The war outside our door keeps raging on."_

I keep singing the song over and over again until my voice is gone. In the bath, in bed. The tune soothes me, tells me that everything will be ok.

It reminds me of everything. Of my parents, of the Hunger Games, of me, of Dariush. The song fits my life. It's my song, and that's why I chose it.

"_Just close your eyes, you'll be alright, come morning light, you and I'll be safe and sound."_ I quietly sing the last verse before I drift off to sleep.

_A/N: So, I'm gonna skip forward some time, so next chapter will be the night of the talent show. I used the song Safe and Sound because, well, it's meant for The Hunger Games! Haha. So please go Google __Hallie Weinstien's Blessing in Disguise__! For me? Ok. Thank you!_


	19. Chapter 19

**Ok so I went to the writing workshop yesterday! I learned A LOT. And I also think I want to write for a living and send ****Hallie Weinstien's Blessing in Disguise**** to a publisher when I'm older! Speaking of that story, I think I'm going to take it off FictionPress because 1) it SUCKS right now; I need to rewrite. 2) nobody's reading it.**

My face is damp and so are my palms. My chest has the feeling that always comes to me, and it reminds me of the day I got stuck in the wheelchair. Are those two months up yet? I don't keep track of time.

I glance down at my outfit, a shimmering hot pink tank top and black skinny jeans, with my black boots. I refasten the mockingjay pin over my heart, and take a deep breath.

I take a look at who's on the stage, and it's just a frail little girl playing a simple song on the piano. I think there are about five more acts until I humiliate myself.

I look towards the judge's table. My mom is scribbling on her comment sheet. I smirk to myself. It's just like her to get bored like that. Haymitch looks like he's asleep, with a beer bottle in hand. I let out a quiet laugh. Delly is patiently watching, her big eyes glued to the little girl, her hands poised in a clap.

When the girl plays her last note, the audience quickly applauds, obviously not impressed by the act.

I watch a teenage boy emerge from the curtains with a trumpet, and I must say, he is quite good. I lean my head back and stare up at the starry sky.

I pick out a few constellations, like Orian's Belt, and the Little Dipper.

"Rye? Rye Mellark? You're up." A man with a clip board taps me on the shoulder. "Oh, ok."

He guides me into a dark room and takes me onto what feels like an elevator. I can see him tapping some buttons and suddenly, I'm moving up.

After a few seconds, the clear doors open and I'm backstage. "Good luck, kid." I hear him walk away and I quickly nod.

"Now, singing a song from America, the beautiful Rye Mellark!" I hear tons of applause, and I slowly wheel myself into the center of the concrete stage.

I take a good look at the audience. There has to be at least all of District 12 here. I see my friends in the front row giving me thumbs up and bright smiles. And… could that possibly be… no, it has to be someone else with deep brown eyes.

I quickly pull the microphone down and take a deep breath. I hear the music playing behind me, and then I start.

"_I remember tears streaming down your face when I said I'll never let you go. When all those shadows almost killed your light, I remember you said don't leave me alone. But all that's dead and gone and past, tonight," _

I keep singing, and catch a tear falling down my mom's face. Same with my dad at the refreshment table.

Then those brown eyes come into focus again. They're near the back, but I can see them clearly. Could it possibly be Dariush? I hear my voice becoming shaky, and I quickly tear my eyes off what could possibly be Dariush.

I slowly finish the song and of course, it's silent. I humiliated myself. I sigh and turn around, making my way off the stage. Then I hear it. An applause so loud I think my ears don't work anymore.

I make my way to the center of the stage again, and take a bow. I go backstage, and that same guy with the clipboard takes me to the elevator thing.

"Nice job, kid. I think that was the biggest applause tonight." I let out a small giggle. "Thanks."

_A/N: Sorry for the short chapter. I'm really excited for next chapter, it will be longer. So um, the updates might be a little bit slow, because right now I'm focused on writing my original. But I'll try to update this story as much as I can!_


	20. Chapter 20

**You don't know how long I have been waiting to write this chapter.**

"And the winner is…" my mom stands on the stage, an unfolded piece of paper in her hands. "Rye Mellark!"

I just sigh, wheeling onto the stage to accept the trophy. It's medium size, golden, and has a golden microphone on the top. My mom pulls me into a hug.

"I told you not to pick favorites!" I whisper sharply in her ear.

"It was Haymitch and Delly! I wasn't allowed to make the decision!" she whispers back.

I sigh again, pulling out from the hug and placing the trophy on my lap. I quickly wave to the cheering audience, and blow a kiss to my friends, who are literally falling out of their seats. The dude with the clipboard helps me onto the elevator thing, and soon I am in the arms of my screaming friends.

"It's just a stupid talent show!" I keep laughing at them as they embrace me in hugs. "But you won!" yelled Rana. "You're amazing now!" I giggle, and suddenly, I freeze.

Was that… forest? _The_ forest smell? It only comes from one person. One person that I know cares about me more than anything, but there is no chance they'd be here. I'm still not convinced.

My dad comes and tears my friends from me. He hugs me tight and takes my trophy. "Alright, time to go home." He leads me away from my friends, and suddenly, I'm in another set of arms. "Rye! Rye! You won, Rye!" I laugh and ruffle my brother's hair as he hugs me. "It's not a big deal Calls, just a trophy."

He breaks the hug and looks at me, his eyes wide with excitement. "A big, golden, AMAZING trophy!" I laugh and reach up to put my hand on his shoulder. "Well you can keep it, then." Again, he gives me a bone crushing hug. "Aw, thank you thank you thank you! Thank you a million times!"

I laugh again and we go home. "You were really amazing tonight," says my mom when we enter the house. "Thanks," I say back, "I think I'm going to hunt for a bit." She nods and I take her old jacket from the coat rack.

"That was your grandfather's you know," says my mom from the kitchen. "Really?" I ask sarcastically. She told me this a million times. "Didn't know." I open the door and a breeze of cold night air pushes against my face. I wheel to the woods and grab my spear. I wobble up and down, side to side as I go through the woods. "Soon I will walk again."

I hear a rustle of an animal and spot a squirrel in a tree. I aim my spear and take in a sharp breath. Just as I am about to shoot, the squirrel scampers away. I angrily lower my spear, determined to catch the thing. I wheel over to some fallen leaves and pick one up. I close my hand over the dry leaf, crumpling it to pieces.

I open up my hand and let the wind blow the pieces away. My mom used to do this when she lost her target. Soon enough, I catch sight of the brown fur and jet black eyes. Again I aim, taking a moment to perfect it. "Why'd you go?" The sound of yelling makes the squirrel run away again.

"Dammit!" I curse under my breath, my hands tightening into fists. "Tell me! Why did you go to the freaking talent show?" I know that voice anywhere. The cold, sickening voice of Cassius. I hear a thump, and I quickly wheel over to the sound. I hide behind a tree and peek out. I wince at the sight of Cassius and his demon friends surrounding someone.

"I had to!" My eyes widen at the sound of Dariush's voice. I look through the boys to see a scared, shaking Dariush, with his brother a few inches away from him. "I told you not to go! Didn't you tell her what we told you?" Cassius's voice sends shivers down my spine. "I had to see her. She probably didn't even know I was there!" So he was there. He did watch me win. I was wrong all along. How could I be so stupid?

"Well what's done is done. You disobeyed us. And now, you will pay." The boys move away from Cassius, leaving me to see my poor Dariush cornered against the tree I fell asleep under the day I became paralyzed. Our tree. I see Cassius pull out a knife, the same knife Dariush used to cut me from the snare the day I met him.

He holds the knife to Dariush's cheek, and then it happens. Cassius stabs his brother, his own brother. Dariush's scream and the sight of his blood sets me off. "NO!" I scream so loud that I think all of District 12 heard. Every face turns to me, even Dariush's. Then he falls to the ground. "DARIUSH!" Then something happens, something that nobody would believe possible. I stand.

I rise up out of my wheelchair, faster than I've ever done anything before. Instead of toppling down onto the hard ground, I stay up. I am standing. My legs are working. Everybody falls silent, and for a minute the world freezes around me.

Dariush's pained yell snaps me out of my trance. I notice I'm holding my spear, and immediately I take a step. Nothing. Then another. Still nothing. Soon enough I start to run, right to the demon we call Cassius. I grab the hem of his shirt and slam him against the tree, right next to his brother.

I hold my spear up to his neck, the tip a centimeter from his throat. "Do _not _make me go any further than I already did," I say through clenched teeth. "But I wish I could go further. You deserve to die. You almost killed your own BROTHER!" I push the spear a little farther so the tip slightly punctures his throat. He winces, but holds his ground. "Even though I so badly want to, even though it's my dream, I can't kill you. So don't you _dare_ touch him again, you understand me?" He slightly nods. "Say it!"

"I will not touch Dariush again!" I nod satisfyingly. "Good. Any of you wanna go up against me?" I whip my head to the other boys. They quickly shake their head and run away. I take the spear out of Cassius, and he sprints away as fast as that squirrel did.

I turn my head to Dariush, who is sprawled on the ground, the knife at his side. "Oh my goodness, Dariush!" I run to his side, and bend down next to him. I quickly search for anything that could soak up the blood, and I quickly pick up some nearby moss.

I dab it on the gash on his cheek, and stroke his pained face. "I'm so, so sorry." He takes my hand and interlocks his fingers with mine. "Th-thank you," he stammers. "Th-this is the second time you've saved my life."

"Anything for you," I say caringly. "Y-you can walk again," he says weakly. I nod, and laugh. "I guess I can walk again. It's a miracle." He smiles at me. "I think I can stand up." He holds the moss to his cheek and I take his other hand and help him up.

"I guess you can stand," I say. I notice that my head is now level with his chest, when it used to be level with his stomach. "You're so much taller!" I giggle and nod. Suddenly, my legs start to falter and I fall. But Dariush catches me before I hit the ground. "Don't worry, I have you," he says reassuringly. He tilts my chin up so I'm looking at his bloody face. "I will _always_ have you."

_A/N: Welllll, what did you think? She can walk again! *quick dance party* sorry if this sounds a little bit…unrealistic, but whatever! Miracles can happen! Thank you to my awkward turtle (inside joke) Shaylin, who basically came up with how Rye walks again! Thank you, Shay Shay! And when Rye uses the leaves to hunt the squirrel, remember when Katniss did that in the movie? I kinda used that… but whatever. Please tell me what you think in the reviews! _


	21. Chapter 21

**You wanna know the reason I write? Read the first word again.**

A chorus of screams fills my ears when I enter the house. I am standing in front of my wheelchair with nobody in it, Dariush at my side, his arm wrapped around my waist, protecting me from falling on my weak legs. I am enveloped in hugs from my mom and my dad and Callee, and they usher me and Dariush inside.

"How did this happen?" my mom asks excitedly. "Well, I was hunting, when I found Dariush's brother attacking him. Then out of shock, I just…stood up." Callee is jumping up and down, and my parents have big smiles on their faces. "And she saved my life." Dariush wraps his arms around me and I do the same to him.

"Eeww, no PDA please!" I laugh at Callee's comment and continue hugging Dariush. "Well," says my mom, "this calls for a celebration!"

"I'll start cooking!" says my dad, and he runs to the kitchen. My mom catches sight of Dariush and her face becomes shocked. "Oh honey, let's get you cleaned up." She takes him into the bathroom, probably to clean the blood off of him, and I decide to sit at the kitchen counter.

"Rye!" exclaims my dad. "You saved someone's life! I'm so proud of you." I smile. "I've saved his life before."

"When?"

"The day I became paralyzed."

He shoots me a look of understanding. "Well, I'm very proud of you." I see rye bread in the oven, and I start smiling like an idiot.

Later in the evening, we are feasting on chicken, salads and rye bread. I can't thank my dad enough for how good a cook he is. Dariush and I are sitting on the couch, and I changed out of my pink sparkly top and into my District 12 sweatshirt. I decide to ask him. "Dariush?" He looks up at me with a mouthful of food. "Where do you live? I never see you around the District. What do your parents do?" Dariush's looks surprised, and he swallows his food.

He hesitates, but speaks. "I don't have parents. Cassius and I live in an orphanage." I almost choke on my chicken, but swallow it half successfully. "What?" is all I could say. "We were left on a doorstep, taken in." I slowly nod, but I have more questions. "Why does Cassius do what he does? Why did he almost kill you?" Dariush sighs. "The people at the orphanage, they treat us like crap. We never got real food, we never got real beds or clothes. All of the cruelness got to Cassius, and turned him into what he is."

It stays silent for a minute, but he speaks again. "So he took off into the woods with those boys. All of the cruelness turned them into monsters. They learned to hunt and fend for themselves, and they just… started living in the woods, basically. And like a good brother, I followed them. I was the smallest, the weakest, but I could still hunt. We still went to school, but slept in the woods."

I am surprised by what he said. He lived in the woods? How could he still be alive? Before I know what I'm doing, I throw my arms around him and bury my face in his chest. "I'm so sorry. You don't deserve what you got," I mumble into his shirt. He laughs and takes my face in his hands. "It's alright. Just remember you didn't cause any of this."

I smile and nod. He kisses my forehead and turns back to his food. I can't let him go back into the woods tonight. I can't let him enter the dangers. I have to ask him. "Do you want to live with us?"

He pauses, his fork still held to his mouth. He quickly swallows his food and turns his face to me. "Are you serious?" I nod eagerly. "Just as long as it's ok with my family." He throws himself on top of me, laughing and kissing me everywhere on my face but my lips. I laugh too, and try to sit up again. "Yes! Yes, yes, yes, yes, YES!" He calms down and takes my face in his hands. "Of course I will live with you and your family." Then he kisses me on the lips, making me smile. Even though we only kissed twice now, it makes me feel happy. We pull away and I stand up. "Let me ask them." I leave the room and go into the kitchen where my family is eating. I wobble a little bit, but I still walk. "Guys?" They turn around and look at me with loving eyes. I hesitate, but finally ask the question. "Can Dariush live with us?"

Their faces became shocked, but then changed to understanding. "He lives in the _woods_. With his brother, who caused his injury. I can't let him go back there. He needs us." After a few minutes of silence, my mom walks forward and cups my cheek. "Do you love him, Rye?"

I think about it for a minute. Well, not only did I save him twice, but he saved me, too. He cares about me more than anything in all of Panem, this whole entire Earth, and so do I. Yes, I do love him. "Yes. I do." She nods. "As long as you guys _behave_," I laugh quietly. We're too young to do anything like _that_ yet. I wasn't ready until marriage. "Then yes. He can stay with us."

I let out a scream and jump on my mom, squeezing her maybe a bit too tight. "Thank you so much! You guys are the best family EVER!" I embraced my dad and Callee in tight hugs. "Dariush!" I ran to the living room where Dariush was finishing his rye bread. I bursted through the door and looked at him with wide eyes. "They said yes. You can live with us!" I charged toward him and pounced on top of him. "You can live with us now," I laughed. "I can see you every day."

"Yeah, you can. But what about clothes? Or shoes?"

"We can go shopping, silly!"

I give him a quick kiss and hear snickers from the door. I turn around and find my dad and Callee with their hands covering their mouths, their eyes amused. "I can see you guys are quite excited," laughs my dad. I just shake my head and help Dariush up. He picks up his clean plate and walks towards the door. "You make amazing food, Mr. Mellark," he says to my dad. "Thank you. And please, call me Peeta." Dariush nods and I lead him to the kitchen.

"Dariush! Hey, Dariush!" He looks down toward a jumping Callee and laughs. "Yeah?"

"Are you a fun person? You better be, if you're living with us." Dariush and I exchange a glance and we laugh. "Yes Callee, Dariush is a _very_ fun person." Callee wears a satisfied smile. "Good." He runs away, up the stairs.

"You've got a…fascinating little brother right there," laughs Dariush. "Yeah," I say, still looking the way Callee went. "That's why I love him."

I put on my polka dot pajamas, the same ones I wore when I got back from the hospital that day that seemed like months ago. It kind of _was_ months ago. I go into the bathroom and put my hair in a messy bun, then brush my teeth. I take a wet cloth and wipe all of the talent show makeup off of my face. I really didn't care about that thing. It was Talu, anyway.

I exit the bathroom and see Dariush sitting on my bed. "How's my walking girl?" he asks. I giggle and slowly walk over to the bed. My legs could falter at any moment. But I will always get back up. I hope.

I sit down next to him and rest my head on his shoulder. "I'm _tired_," I whine. "Then let's go to sleep, beautiful." I blush at what he called me. "You can sleep in the guest room." I guide him across the hall to the guest room. "What about pajamas?" he asks me. "Umm, you can use some of my dad's shirts and pants."

I run to my parents' room and open my dad's dresser. I grab a t-shirt and sweats and run back into the guest room. "Here." I toss the pajamas onto the bed. "Well, turn away while I get changed." I giggle and cover my eyes. After a minute or two, I feel my hand removed from my face and I find myself staring into his brown eyes. "You are so beautiful, you know that?" I feel my cheeks become hot and smile. "Yes. Did you ever know how handsome you were?" He laughs and kisses the top of my head. "I'm so glad you can walk again, Rye." I hug him and rest my head against his chest. "I am, too."

I kiss him goodnight and walk back to my room. I climb into bed and turn off the light, and I snuggle into the covers. I realize that this is my first sleep as a walking girl again. I smile to myself and then sleep quickly overcomes me.

The bark of the dog. Dariush's blood on the leaves. The voice of Cassius. Dariush's blood. Blood. Dariush. _Dariush._ I sit up in my bed, panting once again from a bad dream. I quickly get out of bed and walk out of my room, straight into the guest room. "Dariush," I whisper. "Dariush, wake up." I see him stir and his brown eyes flutter open.

"Hey," he mumbles, his red hair messy. It was kind of cute. No, it was really cute. "Hi," I say quietly. "Couldn't sleep?" he asks. I nod. He pats the space in the bed next to him and I happily come to the bed. "Come on in. It's really comfortable." I laugh and pull the covers over me. He wraps his arms around me and I rest my head on his chest, my arms around his neck. "Thank you for saving me," he says quietly. "You are my hero. My everything." I smile. "Thank you. So are you." And with that, we fall asleep in each other's arms.

_A/N: Heyy… so I enjoyed writing this chapter. It took me a while, I kinda edited a lot. I hope I make you guys happy, and I hope I get some reviews! That's really all I have to say…HEY! I just realized that the little flashing line thing when it's in italics looks like a French fry! Eh, I'm crazy. Ignore me._


	22. Chapter 22

**Hi my beautifuls! (That's what I'm gonna call you guys, beautifuls) so I am soooo sorry I've been gone for so long! I was in San Jose visiting some friends and I didn't bring my laptop! I am sooo sorry I know you all were waiting for new chapters and they didn't come and UGGH. Well now I'm back and writing!**

I wake up to empty air beside me. I look around and see no sign of Dariush. Where could he have gone? I slowly sit up and rub my eyes. When my feet touch the ground, I stagger a little bit.

"Still not used to moving, huh?" I look down and ask my legs. I smile and walk- not wheel- out of the guest room and into my room. Dariush isn't there either. I walk into the bathroom and frown at the dark brown rat's nest that is my hair. I quickly get rid of the messiness on my head, take away my fowl breath, and quickly get changed out of my pajamas and into a gray sweatshirt and skinny jeans.

I slowly walk down the stairs, and not the elevator, careful of falling and injuring myself once again. Like anything else could happen to me. A miracle has happened- I don't want another tragedy to crush its joy.

I abruptly stop in my tracks to the sight of my mom laying down on the couch, my dad and Dariush beside her. She looks like she's ill.

Dammit, I jinxed it.

I slowly run over to them and touch Dariush's shoulder. He jumps a little bit, and he looks at me. His eyes are worried, but a shade of happiness fills them at the sight of me. "What's wrong?" I ask. My voice is concerned. Dariush's eyes become worried again and he turns back to my mom.

"She's sick," says my dad quietly. "She came down this morning to help me make breakfast, but she threw up in the middle of the kitchen." Suddenly, my mind flashes back to the night when she seemed sick, and she waved it off, saying it was just a cold. But it's not just a cold.

I move over to her and kneel down. "Mom? Are you ok?" Her face has lost its color, and her eyes are pained. She has an ice pack on her forehead, probably to cool her down. "D-do I look ok, Rye?" she asks, her voice slurred and hoarse. "No," I mumble. "No, you don't. Do you need anything?" My dad puts his hand on my shoulder. "Go get her some pain killing pills." I nod quickly and stand up, taking Dariush's wrist as I go.

Once we get to the kitchen, I open the cabinet and look for the pills. "How did this happen?" Dariush asks. "I don't know," I say quietly. I find the pills and close the cabinet, when Dariush pulls me into a kiss.

The happiness feeling flows through me, and I smile in the kiss. Dariush pulls away and envelopes me into a hug. "I'm so sorry everything that's happened," he says softly. I break the hug and look up into his mesmerizing eyes. "It's ok, I guess. Bad things are destined to happen in the Mellark family," I look down at my feet. "You know. With the Hunger Games and the war."

I look up again, and let out a breath I didn't know I was holding in. "But all these bad things are replaced with miracles." Dariush smiles. "I am so proud of you. You are so strong." The corners of my mouth curve up a little bit. It's true, all of these bad things have been replaced by miracles. When Laney died, Dariush came along. I smile in my mind when I remember they have the same red hair. When I became paralyzed, the miracle of temporary paralysis came. Hopefully a miracle will come now.

I take the pills and quickly but carefully walk over to my parents. "It's ok Katniss, you'll get better honey." My parents' hands are locked together. I adore how much they love each other. They've been through so much. I quickly hand my dad the pills and run back to the kitchen to get a glass of water.

When I hand it to him, he thanks me with his blue eyes that I inherited. Suddenly my palms get sweaty and heat rushes through me.

"It's…it's hot in here. I'm gonna go for a walk." I walk towards the door and I hear footsteps behind me. "Alone." The footsteps stop, and I open the door and close it quickly. I just need some time to myself. So much has happened in the past few months, it overwhelms me.

I walk through Victor's Village, looking at all of the empty houses. When I enter the District, the streets are crawling with people shopping at markets, making trades, hanging clothes out to dry. District 12 is a much better place now then when the Hunger Games were around. People are happier, freer; they go to sleep safely at night, with no fears. I thank my family for changing our world.

Without noticing, I find myself in an alley. I guess I must have walked here without knowing. I sit down and lean on the wall behind me, and I hug my knees. I stay like that for a little bit until I hear a girlish scream. I instantly raise my head and let go of my knees. The scream fills my ears again.

I stand up and walk towards the high pitched yells, until I'm in another alley. Then I see where the screams have been coming from. A bald man with saggy, ripped jeans and a white shirt is standing above something, a long, sharp stick raised in his hands. His face is aggressive, and hair covers his chin.

He brings the stick down on what he's hovering over, and another scream echoes off the walls. "That's what you get for waking me up, girl!" He yells with a stern, cold voice. He storms towards my direction, and I quickly dive behind a dumpster. Once the man is gone, I stand up and slowly walk out from behind the dumpster.

I get my glimpse at the girl. She has a ripped t shirt and sweatpants on, and her blonde hair is ruffled. Blood covers her hands and arms and feet, and her face is scrunched up in pain. I take a step forward, and then I recognize her. I'd recognize her anywhere. Hali.

_A/N: Dun dun duuuunnnn. Ooh, surprises! _ _Don't you just love surprises? Oh, I have good news and bad news. Which one first? Bad news? Ok. The bad news is this story is going to end in eight chapters. I know, I know, it's sad for me too. But let's cheer you up with the good news! The good news is I'm working on another fanfiction! It's about Prim! It's her point of view through all three books! *super awesome dance party with Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson*  
So yeah. Bye!_


	23. Chapter 23

**Again, I am sooo sorry about late updates. I've been really busy lately. Please don't get mad, because I'll always be here to update and please you guys! I'm really mad because I was supposed to update a few days ago but I guess I forgot to save the document and I lost it so UGH! I'm so sorry I wish I could just come to all of your houses and give you a hug.**

I want to run away. I want to turn my heel and run back home, to Victor's Village, to Dariush and Callee and my dad and my sick mom. I want to run, and leave Hali Shay sitting in this alley to suffer. But I can't. I have to help her. I slowly walk towards her. Flashbacks of getting thrown off of my wheelchair, of getting kicked and punched and hurt, whiz past my eyes as I approach her frail body.

She looks so small, so vulnerable; I can't believe she was the girl that caused me extreme pain not too long ago. When I am a couple yards near her, I speak up. "H-Hali?" I stutter, afraid of watching her transform into a big monster and throw me across Panem. Shaking, Hali looks up at me, her eyes free of makeup, her face stained with blood and tears.

"Are you alright? What happened?" Even though I know what happened, I don't want her to know I was there. Hali doesn't answer my question; she just stares at me with wide brown eyes. I return her gaze, and for a few minutes we stare at each other, trying to read each other with just our eyes.

Finally she speaks. "You can walk." I let out another breath I didn't know I was holding in. "I've heard," I respond quietly. "Now answer my question. What happened?" I kneel down beside her, but I still keep my distance in case she lashes out. "What do you think happened? I was _beaten_." Hali's voice is thin and shaky, like it belongs to a different person. I skim my eyes along her body. She has blood everywhere, her legs, arms, chest, neck, face. Not one inch of skin isn't red.

"I... I'm sorry," I say calmly. It feels like there is so much I need to say, but that is the only thing that escapes my lips. I scan her arms, and I see more beyond the dried blood. Cuts. Big, deep cuts covering her arms. I feel her eyes burning into the side of my head. Did the man who was beating her cause these cuts? Or did she cause them herself?

My eyes venture towards the skin showing on her waist, and I see more cuts. "Tell me what happened," I say, my eyes still on her waist.

"You won't run anywhere? You'll stay here and listen?" I'm surprised that she opened up to me so fast.

"Yes," I say.

"Prove it." I don't know how to prove it. Why should I be here? She left me sprawled on the ground, helpless. Why am I not leaving her helpless?

I want to get up, but I can't. As much as it would satisfy me, it would kill me as well. I decide to go with the latter. "I'm staying here with the girl that kicked me and hurt me and threw me out of my wheelchair," I say to her. "That's an extreme risk." She laughs nervously, a broken, hoarse laugh. "Alright," she says. "Sorry about that, by the way." Sorry won't help.

"My life is a hell, Rye." Her words already shock me. How could her life be a hell? At school she seems happy, with her pounds of makeup and nail polish.

"Why is your life a hell?"

She takes a deep breath, and lets it all out.

"My parents died in a car crash when I was five. I was found and the people who found me forced Jeffery to adopt me." I figure Jeffery must be the man who beat her. "I had no choice. He left me alone in the small house every day; he left me with scraps of food and water. When I was twelve, he enrolled me in school to get rid of me for most of the day. I made friends with a lady at the clothing store, and she felt bad. So she gave me clothes and makeup and nail polish, which I hid in a chest at home." That explains that.

"When Jeffery found out about the clothes, he beat me. He beat me every day when I came home from school, and he still does. And he made me get a tattoo." She shows me her palm, and it has a word in large black letters. "What does it say?" I ask. Hali sighs. "It says "nequam." It means "worthless" in an old language called Latin." I gasp at what she said. Now Hali has a tattoo that tells her every day that she's worthless.

"Anyways, I found a way to let my anger out at school. I treated other people how I was being treated. It hurt me every time I threw an insult at someone. And then you…" she brings her knees up to her chest and lets out a sob. "After what I did to you, I couldn't live with myself. But for some reason I couldn't kill myself, but I cut myself." So she did cause those cuts. After me…

I have to get her to someone. Could I bring her home? No, my mom is already sick. Then an idea comes into my head. Mr. Urdesse. Yes, he can help her. I remember how he turned into a doctor when I sprained my ankle while running with Laney, all those years ago.

I grab Hali's wrist and stand up, bringing her with me. "What are you doing?" she asks. I walk out of the alley and into the town, without answering her. I barge into the supplies store and ignore the stares I get and Hali's protests. I am determined on finding Mr. Urdesse.

After a few minutes I find him in the paper aisle and I clear my throat to get his attention. "Rye!" he immediately drops what he's holding and rushes towards us. "Can you help her, Mr. Urdesse?" I ask.

A look of determination fills is gray eyes, and I wince when I see the look of depression is still there. "Follow me."

Mr. Urdesse leads us through aisles and pathways, and I'm still clinging to Hali's wrist. Finally, he opens a door to a room with a little bed and a cabinet. He turns to Hali. "What's your name?" he asks her. "H-Hali,"

"Hali, please sit." He gestures towards the bed, and Hali sits on it. Mr. Urdesse turns to me. "Rye, can you please leave the room for a moment?" I nod a bit too eagerly and exit the room. I sit on a bench outside the room for what seems like hours with my head in my hands. I want to go home. I want to leave this store and run back in to my family's arms.

The door finally opens and I stand up. Hali is clear of blood, but I still see cuts. Her hair is nicer, and she is smiling from ear to ear, along with Mr. Urdesse. Hali throws her arms around me, whispering thank you's in my ear. "Hali will be staying with me from now on," says Mr. Urdesse happily. Now I smile. This will be good for both of them. And even better, I made a friend out of an enemy.

_A/N: Unicorns and rainbows, horray! Ok, I personally liked this chapter. Remember how I said Hali has secrets? Well, there they are! So I have good news and bad news, again. The bad news is school starts in two weeks for me. And I'm in all honors classes and I'm studying for my bat mitzvah (yes, I am Jewish.) So I'll be really busy, but I'll try to update as much as I can. And the good news is I found a name for my Prim story! It's called…drum roll please… A Late Primrose. Isn't that awesome? I'll be starting it when I finish this story. I already wrote the first chapter! So goodbye for now, my beautifuls!_


	24. Chapter 24

**Hey! I UPDATED! You didn't think I would but I DID. I am so proud of myself! I'm home alone all day today so I just thought "Let's make them happy!" Oh, this is important. I realized I haven't done this and I have to because of…legal things. So, here it goes…*clears throat* I am NOT Suzanne Collins and I do NOT own The Hunger Games (even though I desperately wish I did). I don't own Katniss and Peeta or any of the characters from the books that appeared in the chapters, and I don't own Rye because the idea of Katniss's daughter was all Suzanne. But I own Dariush and Rana and everyone else. ****Read the author's note!**

I open the door to my house and walk through. All the faces turn to me and Callee runs to me and wraps his arms around me. "Rye! I thought you were gone! I was worried!" I laugh and bend down to kiss the top of his head. "I'm fine, Callee." A little more quietly, I say, "Just helping a friend."

I break from the hug and see that nobody is on the couch but Dariush. I walk over to him and sit next to him. "Where's my mom?" I ask calmly. "Upstairs." I notice he's looking down at his knees and I hug him. "Hey," I whisper in his ear. "I'm sorry I didn't let you come with me. I just needed some time." He nods and turns his head to kiss my cheek. "It's ok." I smile at him and stand up. I run up the stairs and stop at my room. I should get it. I walk to my nightstand and pick up the small mockingjay. I run my thumb over the cool surface. She needs this.

I put it in my jean pocket and exit my room and walk into my parents' room. My mom is resting alone, nobody else in the bed. I wonder where my dad went. I slowly approach her, and I notice the tissues on the ground. She looks better when she sleeps, although who knows what's happening in her dreams right now.

"Mom?" I ask quietly. Her eyes open almost immediately and she softly smiles when I come into her view. "Yes?" Her voice isn't as slurred as before, but it's still hoarse. "I just wanted to talk to you." She pats the empty space behind her and I gratefully walk around the bed and sit down.

My mom shifts on the bed so she's facing me. "So you wanted to talk?" she asks calmly. I nod. _In, out. In, out. _ "Why are you sick?" I ask. She laughs a little bit, a smile plastered to her face. "I don't know, Rye," she says. "I guess good luck isn't coming my way right now."

"More like not coming our way," I mumble, looking down at my knees. So many awful things have happened. What have I done, what have _we_ done, to deserve all of this? I try to think of all the things my mom did to get sick. Every place she went, every action I saw her do. Then it hits me. It slaps me in the face. Hunting. That day in the woods where I forced her to hunt and swim. She shouldn't have done that. She caught something. I remember how she insisted to carry my paralyzed body up a large rock, how much effort and sweat she put in it. That's how she got it. Anything else is unthinkable. (_A/N: hehehehehehe remember? Rights to Suzanne) _

It was my fault. If I hadn't dragged her out into those woods and put her in cold water like that, she wouldn't be here. She'd be adding to the book, or thinking about things, or spending time with my dad. She wouldn't be here. "You know it was the hunting, right?" I ask her, still looking down. "Yes. I knew that I would get sick the day I set foot in those woods with you." She knew? She KNEW? Why didn't she tell me? Why didn't we turn back home?

"You _knew_?" I ask her, my voice filled in disbelief. She smiles her smile and nods. "Yes, Rye. I knew. And I didn't turn back because even though I knew I was going to get sick, I wanted to _live_ for once. I wanted to hunt and swim and climb Gale's rock. I wanted to see you hunt in a wheelchair. I knew I would get sick, but it was all worth it." I notice that my jaw dropped sometime during her little speech, and I quickly close my mouth. "You're really determined, you know that?" I ask her. Always have been, always will, I guess. She smiles wider. "Yes. And so are you." I smile at her with no teeth. "Thank you."

"Well, I must get some rest," my mom says. She shifts over to the side she was sleeping on. "Wait!" I yell. I get off of the bed and run to her. My hand finds my pocket and I take out the golden pin. I walk over to my mom and carefully take her shirt.

"Good luck, Girl on Fire," I say. "Because you're going to need a spark." And I place the pin right over her heart.

_A/N: Sorry for the short chapter. Any longer and it wouldn't have been as special. So anyways, here's why I wanted you to read the author's note. When you read a book, don't you want to know what the author looks like? Well here's your chance to find out what I look like! (unless you know me) Ok, so go to YouTube and when you're there, type in KateyIsHungry4THG. That's my username and I only have like 2 videos (I'm making one today). So one of them is me singing Safe and Sound and another is a cool video my friend edited for me. So if you wanna see what I look like, just do what I said! Bye for now!_


	25. The Last Chapter

**We've reached the final chapter of ****Daughter of a Mockingjay.**

"Where are you taking me?" I can't stop the giggles from bubbling out of me. "Just wait!" Laughs Dariush, his hand in mine. I've been very happy in the past few weeks, because my mom has gotten better, and everyone is happier. What brings the most joy to my heart is that I can look at Mr. Urdesse without wincing at the look in his eye, because it is no longer there. Dariush takes me into the Meadow and into the woods.

"So we're hunting on this date?" I ask, stopping at the tree trunk to grab my spear. "Nope," he says, taking my hand away from the spear. "Today, we're climbing." I am confused by his words, but he takes my hand and leads me to our tree. Without a word, Dariush starts heaving himself up the trunk, grabbing a few small branches to help him.

When he's halfway up, my body fills with worry and I yell, "Be careful!" he just laughs and keeps going. After what seems like hours of worry, Dariush finally sits himself down on a thick, wide branch at the top of the tree, and I sigh with relief. "Walk two steps forward! He yells, and I reluctantly obey. Suddenly, something wraps around my feet and I am turned upside down and lifted all the way to the top of the tree.

I hear my scream, then Dariush's laugh as he takes my hands and pulls me up next to him. He takes out the knife that he used when he first snared me, when his brother stabbed him. "That's how we met, remember?" Dariush says while cutting the rope off my feet. I only smile and kiss his cheek. My eyes look down, and my chest starts to ache. We must be about 40 feet up.

Dariush seems to sense my worry and he puts an arm around me. "It's alright," he tells me in a reassuring way. He starts to play with my braid and I look out into the distance. This tree means so much to me. It's where I met Dariush. It's where I became paralyzed. It's where I regained my legs. It's where Dariush and I saved each other. "You ok?" he asks me, snapping me out of my gaze. I don't answer his question, I just turn to him and say, "Thank you."

"For what?"

I smile. "For everything." I lean in and press my lips onto his, and I put my arms around his neck. He kisses me back and his hands find my waist. We stay like that for a while, until we need to catch our breath. We pull away and I rest my forehead onto his. "Sing," he murmurs. "Please." I decide to sing a song from America to him. My blue eyes locked to his brown ones, I open my mouth.

"_You know I'll be_

_Your life, your voice, your reason to be_

_My love, my heart, is breathing for this_

_Moment in time, I'll find the words to say_

_Before you leave me today."_

And the only thing I feel right now is that I've found the one.

…

*_Ten years later*_

We stand under the tree, its branches bare. Snow covering the treetops. My body is shivering. It's been ten years since I became paralyzed, since everything happened. I am 25 years old now. My parents are in their sixties, and I notice wrinkles on their faces and grey hairs on their heads. But their determination has stayed young.

Callee and I still live in the house with them, to watch over them and, because we aren't married yet. I bring my thoughts back to where I am. He stands a couple feet away from me, gazing into my eyes, and I do the same to him. He opens his mouth and starts talking, and as hard as I try, I don't hear him. I'm too busy getting lost in his eyes.

But when he gets down on one knee, I snap out of my trance and gasp, holding my gloved hands to my mouth. Dariush takes a velvet box from his pocket and opens it, and inside is a golden ring with a diamond on top, glistening in the snow. Simple, yet so unbelievably special at the same time.

"Rye Primrose Mellark, will you marry me?" He proposed. Dariush proposed to me! I nod eagerly. "Yes," I laugh. "Yes, I will marry you!" A smile reaches Dariush's face and he stands up, opening his arms out to me. Gratefully, I jump into them, wrapping my legs around his waist as he spins me around, laughing. I bury my face in the crook of his neck, breathing in the sweet smell of forest that never left, even after ten whole years. Dariush sets me down and takes the glove off of my left hand.

Tears stream down my face as he slips the golden ring onto my finger. "It's so beautiful," I sob. "Like you," Dariush murmurs against my lips. He kisses me gently, ending it as fast as he started it. "Just like you."

…

*_Eight months later*_

I stare at myself in the mirror in my house, my eyes wide, nervousness pulsing through my veins. I'm getting married today.

Rana, who I've managed to stay friends with for ten years, comes up next to me, placing her hands on my shoulders like she always does. "I'm nervous." I tell her. "Don't be! You look beautiful, sweetie." She's right, I do. A beautiful white dress that my mother wore to her wedding fits my body perfectly, the gems covering the long sleeves, the bottom trailing behind me. My hair is styled in a low braided bun with strands of hair falling down in the front, a style my mother says she wore to her Reaping. I wear simple white flats with little bows at the front, and my nails are painted a light green, Dariush's favorite color. And the mockingjay pin fastened over my heart.

"You look beautiful, too." I say to her. Rana wears a light green dress that stops just above her knees, the skirt tight, showing off her hips. The top is the same, and the sleeves are short and ruffled. All of the bridesmaids wear this dress, to match the color of the wedding. Her dark hair is worn in a braid that hangs off her right shoulder, and her heels are the same light green.

"I know." Rana curtsies and I laugh. "But not as beautiful as the bride." I smile at her and hear footsteps entering the room. I turn my head and see Hali, my maid of honor, walking in, a smile on her face. She has on a long dark green dress, and dark green heels. Her hair is left down and curled, beautiful as always. And the cuts on her arms are no longer visible. "Just checking in," she says. "You get married in twenty minutes." Without thinking, I run over to her and throw my arms around her. "Well, someone's a little emotional," she laughs. I just whisper "thank you" in her ear.

Rana glances at her watch, and her eyes widen. "Honey, fifteen minutes." My chest aches, and I quickly walk over to the bed and sit. "I must be going, need to meet with the other bridesmaids." Rana cheerfully walks out of the room, leaving me and Hali alone. She sits next to me, putting her arm around my shoulders. "Hey, it's ok." She must tell I'm nervous out of my mind. "What if I make a mistake?" I ask, turning to face her. She laughs. "You've rehearsed this, haven't you?" I slightly nod. "Then you won't make a mistake."

Hali picks up the watch that Rana left on the bed. She takes the white veil that lays on my bed and places it on my head, the thin fabric draped in front of my face. "Ten minutes. Let's get going."

My legs wobbly, I stand up. We walk out of the room, down the stairs and out the door. I look across the grass at my parents' house, the house I stayed in for so long. Hali and I quietly walk through Victor's Village, no words exchanged between us. We walk to the Meadow, where the wedding is being held. Rows of white chairs are lined up, and in the middle of them a white pathway. I look at the gazebo, a simple thing where the man who marries us stands.

"Good luck," Hali whispers in my ear and walks away. Let's get married.

…..

"You may kiss the bride." I place my hands on Dariush's shoulders and press my lips to his, and suddenly, the whole world dissolves around us, and we are the only ones left. As I kiss him, everything we've done flashes before my eyes. How I he cut me from the snare, how his spear shot the dog. When he said he loved me all those years ago. Images of us hunting, sitting in our tree, asking me to sing. When I first got lost in his eyes.

We pull away and everything comes back to me, and the sound of applause fills our ears. I'm married.

…..

We sit at the tables in the town square, a band playing on the stage. At our table is me, Dariush, my mother, father, Hali, and Mr. Urdesse. My mother and I are the only ones seated at the table right now, for everyone else is dancing or talking with friends. Her grey eyes admire everything she sees. "Mom," I laugh. "Haven't you done enough looking?"

"Yes," she says. "It's just when I got married, it was nothing compared to this." I sigh. When she got married to my father, the rebellion had recently ended, and everything was getting pieced back together. She couldn't have any of this. I take her hand. "It's ok. Remember that without you, I wouldn't have a wedding like this, and kids would be fighting to their deaths." She just smiles and says, "Thank you."

The tap of a microphone echoes through the square, and all of us turn our heads to the stage. "It's time for speeches," says my father. Everyone goes back to their seats, and I smile when Dariush sits next to me and takes my hand under the table. "Who would like to go first?" I see a few hands shoot up and my father points to Talu.

She jogs up the concrete stairs and takes the microphone.

"When I first saw Rye and Dariush together, I thought, 'Dammit, I was going to introduce her to my brother!'" A chorus of laughs comes from the audience, including mine and Dariush's. "I watched how they argued, how broken Rye was without him by her side. And when they were together again, when I saw how their faces lit up at the sight of each other. So in the end, they are the missing pieces to each other's puzzles."

Everybody claps, and Talu gives a little bow and walks off the stage.

More people give their speeches, and react to all of them. But my favorites were my mother's,

"_When Rye told me about Dariush for the first time as a fourteen year old, I couldn't help but jump for joy. The way she talked about him, the way she said he hunted. I admired how Dariush helped her when she was in a wheelchair, how he never thought any different of her. And when she pleaded to us to let him live with us, that was the first time I saw that my baby had found the one. And I gave no hesitation to agree."_

And Hali's.

"_This is a little short, but it's a speech. When Dariush pinned me against a wall, telling me never to touch Rye again, the only thing I was thinking was that he loved her. I wasn't scared or angry; I just realized that this was the poor girl's guy. And that he would do anything to protect her."_

….

We sit at the fireplace in our house, pieces of bread in ourhands. This is the Toasting, a tradition in District 12 that my mother told me about. You throw pieces of bread in the fire, the first fire you make after being wed. "Ready?" he asks. "Ready," I say. I toss my half of bread into the flames, watching it burn. Dariush does the same. "You're my wife now," he says. "I've wanted to say that for years."

I stand up from my chair and pull him up too, and I wrap my arms around him. "How does it feel?" I ask. Dariush takes my chin and lifts it so I'm looking at him. "It's the best feeling in the world."

…..

"Dariush?" I ask, snuggling into him under the covers. "Hmm?"

"I don't want to have a baby for a year or so. I want to get used to being married. Is that ok with you?" He kisses the top of my head. "I was going to say the same thing." And I fall asleep in his arms.

…

*_approximately one year later*_

I get out of bed with an awful feeling in my stomach. I reach the toilet just in time, vomiting up my dinner. The lights come on and Dariush holds my hair back, and I can tell he's worried. "Rye, what's wrong? You've been throwing up in the middle of the night for a long time." I have to tell him. It's official now, I went to the doctor's. I wipe my mouth with some toilet paper and flush the stuff down the toilet. Dariush helps me up and takes me to the sink where I can wash my mouth out.

When I'm done, I turn to him and bury my face in his chest. "Dariush?" I ask. "Yes honey?" Do it, Rye. It's now or never. "I'm…" I choke on my words. "I'm p- pregnant." Dariush breaks the hug and looks down at me, his face shocked. "Pregnant?" I look down at my feet and nod. "Yes."

My heart skips a beat when Dariush's laugh fills the bathroom. He picks me up and spins me around, smiling from ear to ear. "You- you're not mad?" I ask when he puts me down. "No! Absolutely not! That was our plan, remember?" I laugh. "Yeah, I guess it was." Dariush calms down and touches my abdomen. "I'm not even showing yet!" I giggle. He seems to ignore me. "Hey," he whispers to the little person growing inside me. "I'm going to be your daddy. And I promise that your mommy and I will take very good care of you. I promise."

…

*_eleven years later*_

We sit on the couch, admiring our children as they dance in front of us. The older girl with the dark hair and grey eyes twirls gracefully. When I first held her in my arms, I saw my mother. I saw her face, her hair, and her eyes. It was then that I realized that my girl was a reincarnation of her. Without hesitation, I named her Katniss. I realized that my mother had come to relive her life in peace, without starvation or having to go into the Hunger Games. I vowed to give her food and happiness, things that she never got in her past life. Katniss doesn't know that she's a reincarnation, and I think it would be best not to let her know.

My other little girl does a cartwheel, her shining red hair waving in the light. I saw Dariush and myself in her, but I saw more than that. I saw Laney.

Katniss and Laney finish and bow, and we applaud for them. "Bravo, bravo!" Dariush yells. Katniss giggles and runs to me, giving me a hug. "Will I do well in the recital, Mom?" she asks. "Of course, baby."

"Well, it's time for bed," says Dariush, picking up Laney. "Aww!" Laney whines. "Why can't we stay up with you guys?"

"Because," says Katniss. "We need to sleep if we want to be alert for school tomorrow." I laugh. Just like what my mother told me when I was young. I glance at how Dariush holds Laney. It's funny to me; she's nine and is still held. We take them up the stairs and into their rooms. Every night, Dariush and I take turns saying goodnight to them. He takes care of Katniss while I take care of Laney, and then we switch.

Dariush puts Laney down and she takes my hand. I lead her into her room and she jumps onto her bed. "I still don't understand why we can't stay up," she says, crossing her arms. I giggle. "It's late, honey. You'll regret it if you stay up." I make her lay down and then I tuck her in. "Can you do something that will make me fall asleep?" she asks. I think of what to do. She's too old for singing…

"Tell me a story! A short one." I smile at her. "Alright." I decide to tell her a story that my mother told me when I was Laney's age.

"Once upon a time there was a hunter. He was very strong, and he always had food for his family at the end of the day. But he didn't hunt alone. He also hunted with a girl, a very pretty girl who was also good at hunting. They were best friends. Across the city lived another girl. She had blonde hair and blue eyes, and she always had food on the table. The hunter was jealous of the girl, for she was rich and he was poor. They didn't like each other until one day, the hunter's best friend was sent away. Both the hunter and the rich girl were devastated; because the hunter girl was a friend to both of them. So over time, the hunter and the rich girl started to become friends, and eventually, they fell in love. And they all lived happily ever after."

Laney's soft snore fills the room, and I smile and kiss her on the forehead. Dariush comes in, hugging me from behind. "I think you better go deal with the other one," he whispers. I nod and walk across the hall to Katniss's room.

I find her laying in bed, her grey eyes fixed on the ceiling. At the sight of me, she smiles. "So what's it gonna take for you to fall asleep?" I ask her. "Sing the Meadow song." She says quietly. I remember all those years ago when my mother sang that song to me, when I sang it to my brother.

"_Deep in the meadow_

_Under the willow_

_A bed of grass, a soft green pillow_

_Lay down your head, and close your eyes_

_And when again they open, the sun will rise. _

_Here it's safe, here it's warm. Here the daisies guard you from any harm_

_Here your dreams are sweet and tomorrow brings them true_

_Here is the place where I love you."_

I plant a kiss on her forehead. "Goodnight, Katniss."

I exit her room and walk into my bedroom, exhausted from a long day. Dariush sits on the bed, and I smile at him. I walk over to the basket on the nightstand to take off my engagement ring for the night, when I feel something on the ring I've never felt before.

I take it off and find engravings on the side. It says, "DOAM".

"Dariush?" I ask. "Hmm?" he says, walking over to me. "What does this mean?" I show him the engravings I've been oblivious to for all these years. He smiles and wraps his arms around me, laying his head on my shoulder. "It means," he whispers in my ear, "Daughter of a Mockingjay."

_A/N: We've reached the end. I know I said this story was going to be 30 chapters, but I figured Rye had done everything she needed to do to become a heroine. So I want to say thank you. Thank you to all of my readers, who took their time to read, review, favorite, and follow this story. Thank you for all the support, because you guys are the reason I write. The fact that you love this story, that you show real emotion for it, just warms my heart, makes me so happy. I love all of the amazing friends I've made while writing this story. Writing is what I do. I want to be a famous author when I grow up. I will be back soon with Prim, and many other stories to come. So I hope you enjoyed going on this journey with me. I hope you enjoyed Daughter of a Mockingjay. Love, Katey. _


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